Viridian Dreams
by CYCBW
Summary: Plagued by a recurring dream which he never wants to wake from, an older Ash must come to terms with his past and force himself to move on or to try and repair a path which he was sure to have destroyed 7 years ago.
1. Chapter 1

It must've been midnight in the now quiet city of Viridian. Almost everyone was asleep, and the only sound Ash Ketchum could hear was the low whir of the air-con blowing throughout his room. If he strained his ears, the young trainer might've been able to hear a Rattata skulking outside his window but that was the last thing on his mind. Along with his closest friends Brock and Misty the trio were on a return trip from Johto and the Silver Conference, each heading back to their own homes after spending so much time away. The three knew that their journey was ending in the morning but it seemed as if they all were having troubles expressing how they felt. Misty had gotten angry at ash for not seeming to care, Ash was his usual arrogant self, adamant in refusing to understand Misty's point of view and Brock, despite having oh so much experience was for once unable to bridge the gap that had formed between the two trainers.

It didn't help that earlier in the day while Misty was taking a needed break from the hot-headed master in the making she was ambushed by the _Invincible Pokémon Brothers, _with an unfair 3-on-1 battle threatening to take a turn for the worse before Ash and Brock came to back up their friend. Despite acting as if she had it under control, Misty was shaken up and frightened. It was the first time where, even for a moment, she didn't have the brazenly over-confident boy with the messy raven hair at her side, and that made her feel more isolated than she ever had been.

After cleaning up the trio, all three came to a mutual decision that they were simply too tired to continue home and decided to crash at the local Pokémon centre, and that's where Ash found himself right now. For some reason he was simply unable to sleep, his stomach light and jittery while his shoulders were heavy, weighing him down to the bed and draining all the energy from his body. On the bunk above him lay the girl to whom he no longer owed a bike, and across from him _used_ to be Brock however the older boy had walked out of the room half-awake, mumbling about his bladder.

Ash had tried everything to fall asleep. He counted Snorlax, tried his hardest to keep his eyes open as if to trick himself into a deep slumber and even went to reach for a night-light in order to read the latest _Pokémon Weekly_, but seeing the sleeping electric mouse upon his stomach made him decide against that last idea. He didn't want to wake his closest friend, nor receive an electric shock.

Just as he finally felt his eye-lids droop, something suddenly got his attention.

"Hey, Ash?" The voice of the Cerulean gym leader filled his mind and jolted him back to reality. Lifting his head up with a low groan, he looked up to the bunk above him as if he could see his friend through the wood and mattress.

"Misty…? What's up?"

"I uh, I just wanted to say something to you…" Speaking in a low whisper, Misty's voice was anything but sure of itself.

"…Yeah?" Now sitting up fully, Ash realised his mistake all too late as the Pikachu which was just lying on his stomach had rolled off, softly crashing onto the sheets to his side.

"_Chaaa…._" Instead of waking up the small Pokémon it simply sprawled out on its back, letting out a deep sigh as it continued the ketchup filled dream.

With a breath of relief Ash turned once again to examine his friend through the bunk, "Misty, what's up?"

"Well, uh… T-thanks for coming to help me today with that trio. You and Brock."

"Oh, is that all? It's not that big of a deal." His fingers combing through the back of his hair, Ash leant out to the side of his bed, looking up just as Misty popped her head over her bunk. Still in her tank-top and jeans her hair had been let out of its side ponytail, the messy heap falling across her features. In some way it made Ash's stomach jitters disappear for a mere second, before coming back with twice the intensity.

"No, but I mean it! I wasn't… I wasn't very grateful to you both. And after getting me my bike back, I dunno…" Casting her eyes away from Ash she fidgeted in her sheets. "Without you there, I was a little scared. Maybe."

Unable to respond but with a blink of his eyes, Ash was trying to figure out what he really heard as Misty's voice trailed off. _Scared_? No way! Even if she was, there's no way that she'd admit it. Of course if she did, Ash was _not_ about to let her live it down.

"Wait, did you just say you were sorry? You?!" Speaking as loud as he could in a whisper a sheepish grin captured his features. Hearing this was simply a once in a life-time opportunity.

"What? N-no! Of course I didn't! You're just hearing things because that thick skull of yours is still waking up!" In a desperate attempt to cover for herself, Misty resorted to the one thing she was best at; insulting Ash.

"Too bad for you I was already awake! You said you were scared, didn't you?"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!'

"DID NOT!" With the most piercing whisper ever released from a human pair of lips Misty pulled her head back from the edge. Her nose running and her vision becoming blurry, having Ash see her in this state on-top of her prior 'confession' would be too much to recover from. It was just unfortunate for her that in complete silence, there was nothing to cover the quiet sounds of her crying.

"…Misty?" Even if they may yell and scream at each other, the last thing Ash ever wanted to do was to cause his friend even the mildest discomfort, let alone make her cry. Getting out of bed as silently as he could, he hoisted himself up the bed-side ladder so he was head and shoulders above the top bunk. The second his eyes adjusted to the darkness properly, he saw his best friend crying.

"Misty, I'm sorry! I-"

"It's okay… you didn't do anything wrong." Holding the sheets up to her face so that only her eyes were visible, she looked Ash head on, neither of them pulling their gaze away. "I… It was just the first time I was in trouble and you weren't immediately there. Every other time, if it was team rocket or something else, you and Brock were right there beside me."

With a million and one things popping up in Ash's mind, all he could do was remain silent and listen. As thick as he was, this wasn't something he wanted to interrupt.

"For a few minutes I was by myself, and even if I _could_ handle it… all I wanted was to hear you and Pikachu right next to me." Now, the tears came faster than before.

"B-but Misty, you were fine! You're a gym leader, you-"

"I know!" Throughout their conversation, both trainers had unknowingly gotten closer to each other. Now, for the first time Ash was conscious as he felt Misty's warm breath caress his face. It tickled, and in any other circumstance he would've been annoyed but right now the last thing he wanted was to move away, and he had no clue as to why. "I know I can handle it alone, but I don't want to Ash! I want you to be there, I don't care how easy or hard it gets!"

Ash didn't even go to reply. He had no idea how to react in this scenario. Throughout their entire journey together, the two had been in countless sticky situations, and they had fought their way out of each and every one. This though? This was entirely alien to them both.

"Ash… I don't want you to go tomorrow."

"I… I have to, though. I need to go back to Pallet, and-"

"No! Ash… don't leave me!" Misty's voice was as weak as it had ever been, but she had never wanted anything more in her life. Lowering her sheets, she reached out and brushed her fingers against Ash's shirt, feebly clawing into the fabric and pulling him closer. For the briefest moment her face was less than an inch away from his, and their eyes were locked on each other. Even in the darkness Ash could see the beauty in his friend's eyes, and he was stunned. With one final move forward from them both, their lips locked. The kiss was awkward and inexperienced, but it was entirely pure and Misty had put her entire message into it, pulling Ash as close as she could manage.

Neither of them knew for how long for but they remained in that position, Ash leaning up and over the top bunk as Misty pulled him close and their lips danced together. For the young red-head, she was giving her last-ditch effort to convince the one person she felt truly safe with to stay, and for Ash, all he knew was that this is what Misty wanted, and for some reason fulfilling her wish filled the void in the stomach and gave his shoulders the strength to carry the world. Their lungs screamed for air but neither wanted to break free as their tongues danced against each other in the clumsiest yet most passionate embrace any human could ever know.

It wasn't until they heard the sound of footsteps approaching that they separated, both moving back to their original positions just in time for Brock to walk back in the room and into his bed. Before long, the familiar sound of the older teen snoring had filled his ears, but his mind was focused on nothing but the girl above him as Ash hopelessly struggled to figure out what it was he should do. It was ironic that then, when he actually wanted to stay awake that sleep came in an instant, forcing his eyes closed despite every protest.

It was 7 years later that Ash now awoke, covered in cold sweats but remaining still. It wasn't the first time he'd had this dream, and unlike the first where he woke up screaming and choking back tears, he simply remained in bed and stared up at the ceiling. In the next few minutes he replayed the events after that night. The 3 woke up in silence, and walked out of Viridian to the cross-roads. He couldn't muster the nerve to talk to Misty at all, and even Brock picked up in a second that something was up. Unfortunately, he put it to simple depression of the group going their separate ways.

The 3 split, saying their farewells before heading off in their own directions. He hugged misty, and felt her fingers dig into his shirt once more but neither knew what to do. They were young, doubts flooded their thoughts and removed any hope of them speaking about what happened. With his closest companion on his shoulder, Ash walked towards Pallet, turning around one last time to see Misty on the horizon just as she broke into a run, head down, moving as fast as she could.

There was nothing that 18 year old Ketchum could do now but wipe the sleep from his eyes and get up, stretching just as Pikachu woke up beside him.

"_Chaaa..._" Slowly getting to its feet, Pikachu imitated Ash and stretched out before hopping on his shoulder. "Pikapi!"

Thankfully that was enough to get a smile on Ash's face. "Come on then Pikachu, we've got a pretty big day ahead of us."

Soo, this is just the start of something I had been thinking of after re-watching the original anime. I'm entirely new to showing what I write to other people, so feedback is appreciated but in the end this really just is a little project of mine for fun, nothing all too serious. If people like it I'm more than happy to keep uploading what I've written, just figured i'd chuck this part up and see what you all think :)


	2. Chapter 2

"But you know what Pikachu, I think I could use a bit more sleep." Even after going to the trouble of getting out of bed, it was only seconds before Ash fell backwards and collapsed onto the soft mattress. Having spent some time at home it was only natural for him to become complacent and lazy, often staying up way too late and sleeping in well past midday. The only thing he ever woke for was the smell of food and his planned training schedule. Even if he wasn't currently competing in anything, the new PokeMaster wasn't about to let any of his Pokémon fall out of shape.

"Pika?" The electric mouse cocked its head to the side somehow still surprised by Ash's behaviour after all these years. Grabbing onto his leg, the Pokémon started pulling for all it was worth.

"Pikachuuuu let me sleep in a bit more. The Professor can wait!"

"Pika, Pikapi!" Giving his pyjamas one last pull in vain, Pikachu hopped up onto Ash's chest and powerful sparks started flying from its cheeks."Pikaaaaaa…"

"Wait, wait no Pikachu I'm getting up!"

Too late. Even as he scrambled to rise it was all he could do to brace himself.

"_CHUUUU!"_ Discharging enough electricity to make any normal human feint Pikachu shocked Ash just enough so that he had no chance of falling back asleep any time soon.

"Honey, is everything okay? Come downstairs, breakfast is ready!" Coming from outside his room, Delia Ketchum's voice was just loud enough to reach her son over the sound of a pained groan caused by electric shock, with both trainer and Pokémon perking their ears up at the mention of food.

"Go on then Pikachu, I'm coming." Happy to head downstairs for breakfast even without its trainers permission, Pikachu stopped in the doorway looking back at Ash as sparks started flying once more.

"Okay, okay! I promise I won't fall back asleep! Now go before Mr. Mime comes up and chases us both downstairs with its broom." Struggling to get up as he watched Pikachu leave the room Ash brushed himself off and threw his sheets back over his mattress in a half-hearted attempt to make the bed. The only thing that made him pause before heading to eat was the brief moment he spared to look at his cabinet, the reflection of a morning sun off his many trophies with the glare of one in particular capturing his attention. Larger than the rest and with _1__st_carved professionally into the base; Ash's latest trophy from the Indigo League last year always stood out and made him smile without fault.

Stretching his arms high above his head and letting out a yawn which was much louder than necessary Ash found himself dumbstruck the second he re-opened his eyes in the kitchen.

"Let go Mr. Mime, I'm dishing up breakfast!"

"Mime, !"

"I said let go! You get to do it all the time, let me help out for a change!" Standing next to the bench was an unexpected sight that made both Ash and Pikachu lost for words. Fighting over a ladle, Delia's faithful Mr. Mime was furiously struggling for control against Brock as the two clearly had a huge dispute over who should be the one to serve up food.

"Mr Mime, Mime Mr Mime!"

"You're just saying that. I know you'll change your mind the second I agree!"

"Mr. Mime!"

Surprisingly, none of this was bothering Delia in the slightest. In fact, she had gotten so used to it that instead of worrying you could find her sitting in her chair with an immovable grin, slowly sipping on coffee as she watched the two in a similar fashion to a comedy skit.

"Fine. If I let you dish up I get to do the cleaning afterwards!"

"Mime!"

With a stare off intense enough to make almost any stand-byer nervous the two eventually nodded and came to an agreement with Brock sitting down as the faithful Mime Pokémon started serving.

"Uhh, hey Brock."

It was only now that Brock noticed his old friend had finally awoken, getting up from his chair as fast as he sat down to give Ash an overwhelming bear hug. "Ash! It's so good to see you again!"

"Y-you too Brock!" His arms pinned at his side by the powerful hug, Ash could simply slap his restrained hand up against Brock's side until he let go, taking in a huge gasp of air. "What are you even doing here?"

"Pika-chu!" Hopping up onto Brock's outstretched arm in an instant, Pikachu happily started chewing on one of the Breeder's delicious PokeTreats.

"It's good to see you as well Pikachu, and what do you mean Ash? We're all here visiting Professor Oak."

By now everyone had seated, starting to eat as Mr. Mime went around serving up food and cleaning a spot whenever Brock wasn't paying enough attention.

"Wait, you're visiting Oak as well? How come?"

"What are you on about? You know why everyone is headed there, right?"

"Uhh, no… All I know is that Professor Oak wants to see me for something, at least that's all my mum told me."

Silently listening in on the conversation Delia now gave a little giggle, although if it was at her Pokémon's stealthy cleaning or her son's words no one would be able to tell.

"That's my fault Brock; I thought it would be best if I let you all explain it."

"Oh! Well that's fair enough then. Ash the Professor wants to see us all because there's another tournament coming up, and we're sending you to it."

Although he had still been fairly groggy up until now, the instant he heard mention of a tournament all the life suddenly burst into his body, eyes lighting up as he started bombarding Brock with questions.

"A TOURNAMENT?" Wait, but which one? I finally beat the Indigo league 8 months ago, the Johto and Hoenn leagues aren't on for another half year, and I don't have enough time to go to any of the others!"

"Well… Just wait until we get to the lab. You'll have everything explained to you then okay Ash?" In response the young trainer had scoffed the rest of his food, leading him to silently protest about a burnt tongue before rushing around the house grabbing his things. First into one room, coming out throwing his jacket on, into another and back out wrapping his belt around his waist as he went outside.

"Well, you can see why I didn't tell him myself!" With an innocent smile Delia apologized to Brock.

"Hey I can't blame you. I can barely handle travelling with Ash even when I have another person or two to help. I don't know how you can deal with him for so long."

"_Charizard, let's go! We're entering another tournament!"_ Coming from the backyard Ash could be heard talking to one of his strongest and most faithful Pokémon just as it came back from its morning flight.

"_ROOOOOOOOOOAR_._"_ Of course, his Pokémon was just as excited as he was. Bolting back inside to grab Brock by the arm as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder, the three exited the house as a group when Brock finally noticed the sneaky antics of Mr. Mime.

"HEY! NEXT TIME I'M CLEANING, OKAY!?"

"Mime, Mr. Mime!" The miming Pokémon was triumphant and was more than happy to let everyone know about it. Delia, after seeing her son leave the house once again had to resist the urge to embarrass her son with her usual routine, deciding against it as she doubted that she could even be heard above the sound of Charizard's powerful wings.

"Good luck sweetie, I know you can do it."

* * *

"Come on Brock, just tell me already!"

"Can you really not wait another 10 minutes Ash?"

"Nope!" Continuing to plead his friend for as much information as he could pry out of him, Ash was dancing and jumping in circles around the older Pokémon Breeder. "Come on! Come on come on come on come on!"

"Pika!"

"Watching you now I don't think _anyone_ would guess that you're champion of the Indigo league or over the age of 15, let alone both."

The only way Ash could respond to that was with an overbearing grin, his mind subconsciously flooding him with memories of standing atop the podium in front of a crowd of thousands, receiving his trophy after becoming the Indigo League Champion.

"And no one would think that you're a world renowned breeder after seeing you with an attractive woman for one second."

"That… that's entirely irrelevant." For a moment there was dead silence, before they both burst out into laughter which carried throughout the empty road only accompanied by the sounds of Charizard watching overhead.

"Anyway Ash, before we get there I need to tell you something. This tournament isn't your normal tournament. It's big and you aren't going to be the only one at the lab when we get there."

"What do you mean? It's a tournament; of course it's going to be big." Despite his protests both Ash and Pikachu were now vividly listening to Brock's every word, eager to know any and every detail about the upcoming competition.

"No Ash, this is larger than any competition you've been in. The tournaments, the Orange League and the Battle Frontier. It's new, and it's absolutely _huge_."

To say that Ash was excited was an understatement, but accompanying that was nerves. He could feel butterflies swimming around in his gut as he tried to imagine the scope at which this competition would be on. As the trainer grew older he never lost his confidence in himself and especially his Pokémon, but after meeting more and more talented competitors he came to respect others just as much as himself and thinking of the possible opposition naturally left him feeling slightly nervous.

"Wait, so you said others are going to be there. I'm not the only one from around here that's going to be entering? Who're the others?"

"Well, they won't be entering exactly… just wait until we get there, you'll see. As for who's going to be there?" Over the course of their talk, the small group of humans and Pokémon came up on the final hill, with the lab coming into view any second. "There's a few actually. Tracey will be there, Gary, even Ritchie."

Their destination just coming into view, Ash shielded his eyes from the late-morning sun as one striking figure in the near distance caught his gaze. A young female around his age, she stood waiting outside the lab leaning back on the gate with both hands tucked into the pockets of her skinny black jeans. Her midriff was entirely exposed, the girls' toned stomach being tanned by the harsh rays of the sun excluding the small area shadowed by her signature tank top. The bright yellow fabric standing out in any situation, it was highlighted even moreso by flowing orange hair which fell just below the girls' shoulders, seeming to frame her stunning face and bright, Viridian eyes perfectly.

The second the woman saw Brock her face lit up with a bright wide smile, lifting her hand to wave just as her gaze shifted to focus on Ash. Seeing the now accomplished Pokémon Trainer once again she felt a dull pain in her chest, one which mirrored the feeling that Ash himself had the moment he recognized her.

With an almost overbearing tightness in his chest, and his former nerves dropping dead and weighing down his stomach he could do nothing but wave back.

"Misty…"

"Yeah. Sorry to spring it on you like that Ash."

* * *

Part 2! I hope you guys are liking it so far and thanks for taking the time to read it! And a special thanks to those who are following/reviewing, it's great knowing that you're interested in what I've got to write :)

As for the story I'm planning to keep going forward with more flashbacks in each one to give you all a good idea of what exactly has happened in the past, and you can expect more characters from the different regions to show up shortly!


	3. Chapter 3

In the 8 years that they've known each other, the relationship between Misty and Ash would be one that would cause an endless amount of frustration to any observer, and an even greater amount to the trainers themselves. Even though they got off to a less than ideal start with the red-headed 10 year old following around the aspiring boy with a fierce determination to get her bike back, before long the two came to be the closest friends that either had ever had, complete with Brock to look over the two as if adopted to be his younger siblings.

However after the group split ways for the first time it seemed impossible for the two to ever communicate normally again. It didn't help that the few times where the managed to meet up once more were few and far between, often months or years apart. Considering that they never managed to talk about what happened in the first place it proved impossible to do so later on.

The next time the two had a chance to properly talk Ash was travelling through Hoenn with Brock, May and Max, several years later. The group had somehow run into Misty just before a convention for trainers of Togepi and after an eventful day including some interference by Team Rocket Misty had seen her beloved Togepi evolve and leave, heading off to stay in its newfound home to guard over the remaining Togepi which lived in the Mirage Kingdom. Despite their initial meeting being less than smooth it wasn't long until Ash and Misty were working together flawlessly, all previous signs of their awkward relationship deteriorating seemingly for good until the 5 trainers retired at the local Pokémon centre.

Ash, unable to sleep due to the ceaseless snoring of Brock which seemed to reverberate through his body found himself sluggishly dragging his feet out of the shared room, heading back into the hallway to try and find another quieter place to crash. Normally he would go and sleep on the floor of May and Max's room, but that's not where he wanted to be. Even if he did, May had been acting strange all day and Ash didn't want to aggravate that any further. Deciding to just head to the trainer common room for a drink, he passed Misty's room on the way and was stopped when he heard the soft sound of sobbing coming from her room.

As quietly as he could the trainer put his ear up to the door, listening in. Sure enough the sound of Misty quietly crying to herself could easily be made out in the almost eerie silence. He knew it wasn't his place to go intruding in such a situation, especially since he didn't travel with the water Pokémon trainer anymore, but the sound of his friend crying was deemed more important than anything else at that moment. Saying that he was nervous would be an extreme understatement, as Ash could feel his stomach in upheaval just at the thought of knocking.

So, he decided not to knock. Gripping the door handle with trembling hands he slowly twisted and pushed, putting one bare foot in the door as his eyes strained against the darkness. Expecting to see Misty sitting up on her bed, head in her hands he was instead met with a pillow right to the face.

"Hey, what the hell?" Slipping in the crack of the door and quickly closing it behind him, he noticed that the sobbing was gone and had been replaced by extremely heavy breathing.

"_Ash_, is that you? You scared the shit out of me!" Slipping out of her bed, the enraged young girl walked over to Ash, gripping her remaining pillow before bringing it down on his head over and over.

"H-hey, cut it out!" Raising his hands over his head in a feeble defence, his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. Standing in front of him was Misty, wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt falling midway down her thighs with the sleeves cut off just as they passed her shoulders. Her hair once again was let down, just as messy as and slightly longer than the last time that Ash found himself in the same room as her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Finally stopping the rain of blows, Misty took a quick glance at the door to ensure it was shut before returning to sit on her bed.

"Hey I'm sorry alright! I just heard you crying… I guess I didn't think this through." It was only then when Ash realised how dodgy his situation was. Coming into a young girls room uninvited and unannounced probably wasn't his best move, or so he thought.

"Yeah, that's obvious enough." Pulling her knees up and hugging them, Misty put her face to her bare thighs, muffling her words. "And I wasn't crying."

"Alright, my bad. Sorry I'll go now, I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Hey, no!" Calling out on impulse, Misty quickly found herself at a loss of words after that. "You uh, you don't _have_ to go. I mean Brock's probably snoring anyway…"

"Uhh, yeah you're right." Scratching the back of his head as he let out a nervous chuckle, Ash paused for a second before moving to sit beside Misty on her bed. Somehow, the awkwardness and sheer stupidity of his situation managed to kill his nerves. He didn't know why but he was more than grateful. "Hey, Misty. I'm sorry about your Togetic."

Of course that wasn't the reason why Misty was crying just before, but she knew that her thick-headed friend would never figure out the real reason for himself. Besides, she just beat him with a pillow, so she figured it wouldn't hurt to cut him a break this time.

"Thanks Ash." Both trainers sat there for a few moments, facing forward for neither had the guts to turn and look the other in the eye. "So, what's it like in Hoenn? You miss me yet?"

"Pfft, no way." That got him a punch in the arm. "Ouch… It's nice. Having Brock back is great, and there's already tons of new Pokémon that I've met and so many more that I've heard about. Max and May are cool as well,"

"Oh yeah, I'm _sure_ it's great travelling around with May." Truth be told, Misty became jealous the second she saw the beautiful coordinator next to Ash. Her jealously only became worse when she figured out that they were travelling together, and teasing Ash about it was as close as she would get towards admitting her disapproval.

"H-hey, no! What does that even mean?"

"Aww, so you don't like her? Poor May, isn't she your type Ash?"

"There's nothing wrong with May! Why are we even talking about her?"

"So you're saying you never took her away from Brock and Max to have a little alone time then? Not a quick smooch?" In her teasing, Misty had leant close to Ash, the two finally making eye contact even though Ash's cheeks were a bright shade of red. She was at such a close distance so that he could see her eyes clearly, however Ash was hopelessly confused. Barely managing to hide his embarrassment even in the pitch black room, it confused him entirely as to how the girl looking into his eyes could remain so seemingly calm as she continued to jest and tease. He could've sworn that she would have been just as nervous as he, but from what he could see she was simply her normal self. Either she had gotten a lot better at bluffing, or she wasn't thinking about that night back in Viridian, something which had been on Ash's mind for the entire day.

"No way! You're the only one I've done that with…"

Now, it was Misty's turn to go bright red from embarrassment. Feeling her cheeks and the tips of her ears flush, the red-head turned away instantly. Stumbling over her own words for a moment, it took the young girl a second to string out a coherent sentence. "W-where did that come from?"

"What do you mean? You're the one talking about kissing people!"

"Yeah but I was just joking you dick!"

"Hey, I'm not a dick!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Shut up Misty, you're going to wake everyone!"

"Nup, you can't make me!"

"You wanna bet?"

"Bring it Ketch-"Mid-sentence Misty was cut off, finding herself unable to speak and it took her a reason to figure out why. Amidst the two talking Ash had continually been fighting invading thoughts of his kiss with Misty from flooding his head, barely able to keep the conversation going while his eyes remained locked on his close friend's lips. He was tired, irritated from the teasing and the judgement of a hormonal teen was sketchy at the best of times, so in an instant he decided to lean forward and force his lips onto Misty's, replacing any words coming out of her mouth with a muffled gasp of surprise.

The two remained locked together just long enough for the eerie silence to return, the only thing threatening to fill it being the rapidly beating hearts of the two young teens. It was Ash that broke it off, inching backwards slowly as he braced to be yelled at, screamed at or slapped. He didn't know why he did it, but he did, and he had been assaulted by Misty for a whole lot less.

However Misty didn't hit him. She didn't yell at him, or even say a word. She was just kissed by the boy that she couldn't stop thinking about over the past few years, and she liked it. She _loved_ it, loved it in a different way than she had anything before. It warmed her body, not from her heart but from between her thighs in a way she had never experienced before and she would endure any amount of teasing or awkwardness to feel it again. A small voice echoed in the back of her head, that small part of her which wanted to protect her from any harm whether it be physical or emotional, and it knew that this was going to hurt her emotionally. However she drowned it out, and even if she didn't, even if it was an overpowering boom drowning out every other sense and thought she wouldn't have listened. She simply didn't want to.

Misty raised her hands and placed them firmly on Ash's cheeks, pulling him towards her as she locked her lips onto his once more. It was different than their kiss back in Viridian. It wasn't just a kiss driven by emotion, nor was it a desperate attempt to convey her feelings. It was entirely physical, driven by lust and desire.

It took Ash a moment to realise what was happening but the second he got over his daze of confusion he returned the passion Misty was displaying, pushing her down onto the bed as his tongue invaded her mouth. In response Misty held the boy as she lay down, pulling him on top of her as she tried to be as close to him as possible.

While the Water Pokémon expert was the one being driven by a physical desire, this time it was Ash whose mind began to wander. He knew it throughout the day but it wasn't until this moment where he realised that he wanted her to stay. He wanted her to come with him on his travels again, to spend every waking moment by her side, to be able to protect her whenever she needed it. Seeing her be taken away on the blimp by Team Rocket earlier petrified Ash, and he was determined to make sure she was never in that kind of peril again.

"M-misty…" Calling out her name in the brief periods where their lips weren't locked, Ash new he had to ask her, despite his entire body urging him to stay quiet and enjoy himself.

"Uhhnn, Ash." As for Misty, she was completely overtaken by lust. Wrapping her legs around Ash's back she pinned him against her body, quickly digging her fingers into his shirt before pulling it off his body and tossing it aside. The second it was gone, her hands clung to his toned figure, fingers sliding against the line running down the middle of his back separating the small but noticeable amount of muscle he had acquired through training.

"Misty, hey." Struggling to pull his face away from hers, he looked back down into her eyes. "Stay.".

"Huh?" Taking a moment to put her head back on straight Misty looked straight back up at the boy she loved, a haze of confusion clouding her eyes.

"Stay with us. Come travel with me, and Brock and everyone again."

"Wait, what? Ash where is this coming from?" Ash had now sat up straight, sitting on her hips with his arms wrapped around Misty's back to pull her up with him.

"I, I don't know. I just don't want to have to say goodbye to you again! Seeing you taken by Team Rocket I just… I want to make sure I'm always there to look after you. I'm always happier when you're around…" The words coming out of his mouth were the words which Misty desperately needed to hear back in Viridian, but having them come out of Ash's mouth too late made her chest feel hollow and stained her cheeks with streaks of tears.

"But Ash you know I can't! I need to go back and look after the Gym, I have duties I need to take care of!"

"Who cares! Let your sisters do their job for once, you've been looking after that Gym for the past few years non-stop!" Subconsciously, he had moved his arms from her back to her shoulders, gripping her tightly as it was now his turn to make his case for the two to stay together.

"Don't you think I would've done that if I could've? This entire time I wanted to come back and travel with you!" Her hands were now resting on the boy's face, sliding through his raven black hair. "Do you know how hard it was for me to turn down Brock when he asked me to come to Hoenn to follow you with him? I would've given _anything_ to come, but I've got a job I need to do!"

Ash was stunned. He had no idea that Brock had gone and talked to her beforehand. For some reason he just assumed that Misty decided to stay at the Gym for these past few years, and that was the end of it.

"I, I didn't know that Brock came and saw you before…"  
"Of course he did! He wants us to travel together as much as you and I do!"

"Then I don't understand why you can't? Why do you have to run the Gym instead of _any_ of your sisters?" By now both young trainers had tears blurring their vision, and their voices had risen to dangerous levels.

"Because you're just too late Ash, okay? You fucked it up when it mattered and missed your chance!" It took her a moment to realise what she said, and the second she did her hands covered her mouth as she realised the harshness of her words.

Her words stunned Ketchum and he sat there mouth agape trying to form words which just weren't coming out of his mouth. Slowly he moved backwards, sitting against the edge of the other end of the bed. "When did…" As much as he tried, he simply couldn't talk.

"Ash just, go. Please." Misty had no idea how to salvage the situation, and desperately needed to clear her head.

"Yeah. Fine." Grabbing his shirt, he slid off the bed while getting dressed. He probably put in on back to front, or inside out, but he couldn't care less. In a manner befitting a zombie he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him as quietly as he could. Managing to take a few steps out in the hallway, his body slumped against the wall and he collapsed down to the ground.

Back in her room Misty had curled up in the fetal position, burying her head in a pillow as tears endlessly flowed from her eyes. "God damn it Ash, I'm so sorry…"

For a few minutes Ash sat mindlessly hunched against the wall in the dimly lit hallway. It wasn't until May came out, trying to figure out the source of the commotion she had heard a previously that she saw her friend seemingly immobilised and lifeless.

"Ash? Hey Ash are you okay!?" Kneeling down beside him, May wrapped her arms around Ash and pulled him close. It wasn't until then that he broke down, unable to stop crying into May's chest. The Coordinator was hopelessly confused, but didn't make a sound, pulling Ash close and doing her best to comfort him.

* * *

Everything after that was blurry in Ash's memories and it was a struggle for him to try and keep it that way. All of the pieces were floating around, and he could easily merge them all into one coherent story, but he didn't. He knew it would be too painful. All he remembered was that he stayed in May's arms for a long time, before she pulled him up and took him back to his room. She stayed there besides him until he fell asleep once more, sitting next to his bed with her hand linked with his. The thought of Misty asking him to go wouldn't leave him until sleep came, and the answer to his plea was the worst one he could've imagined.

Instead of the question being left in the dark, as far as Ash could tell it was simple rejection. Misty was gone the next morning when he woke, only fumbling over a brief and apologetic goodbye to Brock which left the older teen questioning Ash until he finally learnt of what happened before, and realised just what was going on between the two.

"Sorry, Ash."

Now Brock knew exactly how hard this would be on both of them, meeting up at the Professor's lab. However the decision for her to be there wasn't a simple one, it was decided by the Indigo League that one of the region's best Gym Leaders would be sent to oversee Ketchum's training, and as far as they were concerned the two knew each other and Misty had even been Ash's coach in the past. That was all the reason they needed to send her off.

It was just fortunate that Ash that he wasn't forced into a conversation with her and her alone. As he and Brock finally reached the foothill of the lab Pikachu jumped off the shoulder of its trainer and dashed straight into the arms of Misty.

"Pikachu-Pi!"

"It's good to see you as well Pikachu."

As his two oldest travelling companions and even his first Pokémon all greeted each other, Ash couldn't help but feel slightly out of place. Of course he wished that he could join them without a moment's hesitation, but small cavity in his chest felt as if it was dragging him back. It's just lucky that his other Pokémon decided to help him out.

Landing directly behind Ash with a strong enough wing buffet to force him forward a few steps Charizard let out a bellowing roar, greeting Misty while at the same time telling off his trainer. While most would see it as a careless landing, the experienced trainer knew his Pokémon well enough to tell those people otherwise.

"Well, at least it wasn't a flamethrower." Grumbling to himself as he looked back at the pseudo-dragon with a glare, Ash was simply met with a thumbs up and a snort.

"Hey, Ash." No matter how mad he might've been at his Charizard, those two works instantly drew Ash's attention over everything else. Turning back around he couldn't stop but let a small grin break its way through his frown, the sight of Misty something he would never be able to get over. She offered him such a kind and welcoming smile that it was impossible not to be drawn forward.

"Hey Misty… It's good to see you."

"Yeah, you too."

Brock took a sigh of relief after seeing the two manage a normal greeting. Being one of the only people to have a glimpse into their complicated past he would've completely understood if both trainers could barely get a stutter and a few awkward words out. It's fortunate for the two of them that even if their relationship blew up in their faces, the foundation of their friendship made over years of travelling together was simply too strong to be moved and offered a reliable fall-back no matter what the circumstances were.

"Well, let's get a move on then. I'm sure we've kept the Professor waiting long enough, Ash."

Brocks words bringing him back to the present, Ash nodded at his older friend. Outstretching his arm to give Pikachu its seat on his shoulder back, the group started walking up the pathway to Professor Oak's laboratory with the footsteps of Ash's powerful Charizard giving them all rhythm.

While Brock and Misty made small talk in front of him, Ash kept his eye out for any of his Pokémon. Usually by this point he could see at least one of his faithful partners in the Professor's fields.

"Pika!" Pointing out, Pikachu directed Ash's gaze to the sight of a lumbering giant rolling its way down a hill. Having presumably nodded off, the massive Snorelax had slowly but surely started to roll down the incline gaining speed as it went until it became an unconscious boulder, with a small party of grass Pokémon fleeing in terror from the mammoth. Directly in its path was a beautiful garden, the home of many of those grass Pokémon.

"Ahhh! Snorelax, what are you doing!" Rushing over to the fence, Ash looked on in shock as his Pokémon rolled closer and closer to the delicate garden. "Come on Pikachu, let's go!"

But just as he leapt over the fence, two vines suddenly shot out from beyond the hill and wrapped themselves around Snorelax. Coupled with a mass standing in its way, the huge Pokémon collided with the other object, stopping it in its stacks before being forced into an upright condition.

Rushing over with Brock, Misty and Charizard slowly following him from behind to see what the fuss was about Ash quickly realised that it was his recently evolved Ivysaur, coupled with his Heracross which had stopped Snorelax. With Ivysaur's Vine Whip combined with Heracross' Megahorn, the two successfully managed to save the garden.

"Ivysaur! Heracross!" Calling out to his two Pokémon just as they noticed their trainer, the two rushed over to greet him. Even though Ash saw all of his Pokémon once every day or two, they never ceased to be overjoyed when he came to visit. "I never would've thought that you two would be working together." Kneeling down to pat both his Pokémon, he grinned as he thought the two had finally started to get along.

"Ivy, Ivysaur!"  
"Heracross!"

However in truth Snorelax was just about to crush Heracross' favourite tree to suck sap from, and Ivysaur was happy to help as long as it meant that the bug Pokémon would leave his blooming glower alone. In a normal situation, nothing had changed between the two.

With all the noise, Snorelax had finally managed to wake up and immediately upon seeing it's trainer he picked up Ash and embraced him and Pikachu into a huge bear-hug.

"H-hey Snorelax, it's good to see you too. Now let me go!" Struggling to catch a breath of air as he wormed his way out of his Pokémon's grasp, Misty and Brock finally managed to catch up.

"You know, most Pokémon Masters I've met have much better control over their Pokémon than _this_." Giggling as she watched Ash try to free himself from Snorelax, she swept her long red hair out of her eyes.

"Hey! Until you manage to beat me in a battle yo-Ahhh, Snorelax let me go!" The huge eating machine finally letting him go, Ash fell to the ground on his back in a disgruntled heap, causing all of his present Pokémon minus Pikachu to laugh at him (Charizard excessively so). With the electric mouse tugging on his sleeve to help pull him up Ash managed to get back to his feet and dust himself off. Although it may seem like he didn't have the respect of his Pokémon, that couldn't be further from the truth. The Pokémon Master prided himself on having a close relationship with his Pokémon, being their friend instead of their owner or master. Having them laugh at him was a natural thing for friends to do, and he found that it did nothing but form even closer bonds.

Giving his Snorelax a soft punch in the stomach, he then leant back on the huge Pokémon. "Until you manage to beat me in a battle you can't criticize the way I raise my Pokémon!" With Ash sporting a smug grin, all of his Pokémon stood up straight and proud besides their trainer, all of them ready to defend Ash's reputation as a Pokémon Master at any moment.

"He's got you there Misty, you know none of us have been able to beat him in a battle for a _long_ time."

Scoffing at the two Misty turned to her side, acting defiant as she couldn't hide the small grin on her face. She knew that they were both right, Ash had a huge undefeated streak which neither of them would be able to beat. Although it frustrated her, both she and Brock owed their own skills and strength of their Pokémon in no small part to Ash. The constant training battles against him kept their own Pokémon in excellent shape, making Misty the arguably toughest Gym leader in Kanto, while Brock was renowned for breeding exceptionally strong Pokémon.

"Ah, there you all are!" A voice calling them from a distance, Professor Oak waved at the trio as he jogged towards them.

"Professor Oak!" The three calling out in unison, they rushed over to him, with Ash's small party of Pokémon in tow.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Oak smiled at the three young trainers. "It's been quite a while since I've seen you three together as a trio!" Brock boasted a proud, brotherly smile at that, while Misty and Ash both offered a shy and timid grin. "What was all that commotion I heard earlier?" In his arms Oak carried a small Oddish which had rushed to him terrified, obviously seeking help from the destructive Snorelax.

"Oh that was just my Snorelax causing a bit of trouble."

"_Snoooore_."

"Ah, I should have known! I forgot to feed him earlier." Reaching into his pocket, the professor brought out one of his special Snorelax PokeBlocks, tossing it to the giant which eagerly ate it before rolling back onto the grass with a full stomach moments later. "Anyway, shall we go inside? I'm sure you're dying to know about the tournament Ash."

Truth be told, the tournament had gone to the back of Ash's head ever since he saw Misty. It was only now that he had been reminded again that his previous energy returned, sprinting off towards the lab as he shouted about the prospect of another tournament at the top of his lungs.

"He really hasn't changed, has he Brock?"

Watching Ash go, Misty had a soft smile embrace her features as she felt a soft pang of sadness, which was quickly overridden as she looked down to find Pikachu tugging on her jeans. Having jumped off of Ash's shoulder, Pikachu came back to Misty, wanting to spend more time with her since he rarely had the chance to do so in recent times.

Giggling to herself, she scooped up Pikachu in the same way she used to with Togepi, walking off after the rest of the group.

* * *

"Come _onnn_ Professor, tell me already!"  
The group were all sitting in Professor Oak's lounge room, with Oak and Misty on one side, Brock and Ash on the other. Occasionally Misty and Ash would take a glance at the other, but never both at the same time.

"Alright, alright. I guess we have kept you waiting long enough. I'll give you a quick rundown of it now."

As he spoke a Mr. Mime walked into the room, dropping a plate with tea, cookies and scones on the table. Immediately Ash grabbed a cookie and stuffed it into his mouth, with the other three picking up a cup of tea each. Just after it had set down the refreshments, Mr. Mime emitted a soft glow, its form turning white before rapidly shrinking down into blob the size of a dinner plate.

"Ditto!" Having resumed its natural form the Ditto hopped up onto the couch and then on to Professor Oak's shoulder, causing Ash to almost spit out his cookie.

"You have a Ditto!?" How'd you manage to catch one of those?" Hopping up to lean over the table for a closer look as he swallowed his cookie, the Ditto gave Ash a wide grin before it began to shine once again. In a moment, it had transformed once more, this time into a Pikachu.

"Pi?" Hopping up from his resting spot on Misty's lap, Pikachu rushed over to the ditto, examining it for a second before outstretching its tail in greeting. "Pika, Pika pi!"

Ditto returned the gesture, touching its tail to Pikachu's in the equivalent to a Pokémon handshake with sparks flying in the middle.

"I received it as a gift from Professor Elm! He refused to tell me where he got it from, but I couldn't be happier! It's an excellent helper, and quite friendly as well."

"That's so awesome!"  
"Anyway, back to the tournament." As if the word had a magical property to control Ash, he immediately sat back down, hands in his lap as he listened attentively.

"This is a new tournament, the first of its kind ever to be held. It's a cross-continental tournament with Pokémon Trainers from around the world coming to Kanto to compete!" As he spoke Oak pulled out a flyer from his jacket, giving it to Ash.

"You see Ash, this tournament has been designed to strengthen friendships between different regions. With more trainers travelling around the world than ever, we think it's important to have international events like this, instead of just focusing on specific events for each of the regions."

Looking over the brochure, Ash skimmed across the basic information, a quizzical look on his face. "Hmm, that's a great idea and all, but other than that it seems like an ordinary tournament."

Shaking his head with his arms folded, Brock spoke up. "It looks like that in the flyer, but no. Ash, this is more than a tournament to promote friendships. Each of the region's leagues are seeing this as a tournament to establish bragging rights, showing which regions have the best trainers once and for all. Each region is sending its best trainers to compete."

_That_ had gotten Ash excited, with the trainer sitting forward in his chair.

"There are also special rules in place Ash." Taking the flyer back, Oak looked Ash in the eye. "This tournament is invitation only. It's small, with only a handful of trainers from each region competing. That's why we've called you here, the Indigo Plateau have nominated you as Kanto's champion to go. It's only natural, considering that you're the reigning champion of Kanto."

It made sense to Ash of course. He only recently managed to come out on top at the Indigo Plateau, taking first place after beating everyone else to gain the championship and official title of Pokémon Master, at least in Kanto. His victory was broadcast across the world, after one of the toughest battles in his life. A newcomer that no one had heard of managed to blast their way through the tournament, winning each match while only losing at maximum one Pokémon in each battle.

It wasn't until the final, where the two trainers were down to once Pokémon each. It was Ash's Pikachu up against the other trainer's incredibly powerful Salamence. In the end both Pokémon were exhausted and Pikachu barely managed to finish it off with a Volt Tackle, charging through the Dragon Pokémon's Hyper Beam before knocking Salamence down with Pikachu just standing up after the colossal impact.

After earning the trophy, Ash demanded to face off against the famous Elite Four of Kanto. In a clean sweep, Ash managed to defeat all of them, cementing himself as the first Pokémon Master of Kanto in the last 5 years, since no one had managed to defeat the Elite four after the previous Pokémon Master had left for the Johto region.

"That's not all Ash, there's another important aspect of this tournament."

Bringing Ash out of his daydream about the first time he ever won a league tournament, he frowned as Oak had a serious expression on his face.

"For this tournament, they aren't allowing trainers to substitute Pokémon between battles. You go in with 6 Pokémon and keep them through every battle you have, on every type of field and against every other trainer."

"Wait, _what?" _Before he was excited, but this piece of news made the trainer exceptionally nervous. "So I can't even swap out Pokémon if I'm about to go on a water field or anything?"

"No, you'll need to pick a solid, versatile team and stick with them throughout the entire thing. Considering you make it to the end."

Ash sat back in his chair, staring blankly at his hands. He always managed to know how to pick the perfect team for the battle, but it was always with a specific goal in mind, after analysing both his opponent and the field where he'd be battling.

"Good."

The single word coming out of Ash's mouth, the other 3 people in the room looked at him, shocked.

"Uhh, Ash, you do know what this means right? Picking a team isn't going to be easy." Her voice slightly weak compared to the confidence of the master trainer, Misty looked at him in the eyes for the first time since they entered the room.

"I know." Sitting up straight with his chest out, Ash let a huge grin emerge on his face. "Everyone else will have to do the same thing, and this is just another way I can get an advantage over the other trainers!"

"Pika, Pi Pika!" Jumping onto his trainer's lap, Pikachu assumed the same pose as Ash.

"Ash, don't you think you should be a bit more, well, concerned?" Speaking up again, Misty looked toward Brock for back-up. Unfortunately, she found none.

"Actually, I'm with Ash here. Everyone he goes up against in the later rounds picks their teams _specifically_ for him. They all analyse every possible outcome, and every time Ash wins is because he pulls out something completely unexpected and original." It was true; Ash had become renowned for his unorthodox style in both training and battling. "I've never met another trainer as versatile as him, and I think if anything this will be a huge benefit."

Nodding in agreement at his best friend, Ash had gotten _very_ excited. "So, an international tournament against the best of the best. I need to get to training right away!"  
"Pika Pi!"

"Well, that's why I'm here Ash." Misty speaking up once more, she leant forward with her hands on her knees. "The Indigo League nominated to send me here to train you up for the tournament."

"Wait, what do you mean? You're going to be _my_ trainer?"  
"The tournament isn't for another two months Ash, and there's a lot of pride running on the outcome. Kanto doesn't want to lose, and they're planning heavily on having _you_ win it. That's why they've sent me here to help you get as ready as possible, along with a few others."

Ash had to admit, the prospect of spending two months training closely with Misty was one that made him ridiculously nervous but was definitely an idea which made the trainer _very_ happy.

"Wait, so who are the others then?" Looking to Brock and Oak for answers, this time it was the Pokémon Breeder that spoke up.

"That would be me." With a fiercely proud smile, Brock sat up straight with his chest out. "They sent me here to look after your Pokémon's nutrition and health. Truth be told even if they didn't, I would've come anyway." Hearing that Brock would be looking after his Pokémon made Ash feel extremely relieved. While he had absolutely no doubts about his own ability to care for his Pokémon, when it came down to it there wasn't a single person in the entire world that he would trust with their health more than Brock.

"And as for some of the others…"

"Heya, Ashy-boy!"

As if on cue Gary oak stepped through the door to the longue room, flicking his hair out of his vision as he did so. Wearing a white coat in a similar fashion to his Grandfather, the now Professor raised his hand in greeting to the rest.

"GARY!? Since when were you back? I thought you were off in Hoenn doing some research!"

"I was, but the Indigo League contacted me and asked me to come back. Apparently people actually _care_ about you now, and it seems like you need me to help keep your Pokémon's fighting abilities up to scratch."

Despite his teasing, Ash and Gary had become close friends ever since Gary decided to become a Pokémon Professor. The two gripped each other's hands in a firm greeting.

"Believe it or not Ash, my Grandson has become one of the leading researchers into Pokémon Battling in the world as of now!" Happy to boast about the success of his Grandson, Professor Oak couldn't help but smile as the two once fierce rivals greeted each other.

"So, how does it feel to know that even the Indigo League recognizes that I'm a great trainer now Gary?" Pikachu hopped back onto Ash's shoulder, sparks flying from its red cheeks as if to challenge Gary along with Ash.

"Well I think that they're an even bigger bunch of idiots than ever, but whatever. I still get paid at the end of the day." Reaching out to scratch Pikachu behind the ear, having come to get along with the electric mouse recently both Gary and Ash laughed.

"Oh yeah, one more thing Ash. I met one of your old friends while I was doing my work in Hoenn."

This made Ash curious. He had made quite a few friends while travelling with Brock in Hoenn, and one in particular came to mind. However the girl he was thinking of wouldn't be the one Gary met, as they were almost guaranteed to be travelling to conventions in another region at this time of year.

"Eh, really? Who?"

Instead of answering, Gary stood to the side. Entering in from the same door which he just came through a young, tall woman stepped into the room.

Slightly taller than Misty was, and with a bit more of a 'feminine' figure, the young woman quickly scanned the room. Wearing a white loose singlet with tight blue denim shorts that stopped a bit above the halfway point on her tanned thighs, she was instantly recognizable by the red bandana with a white PokeBall pattern on her head, holding in the long brown hair which fell well down past her shoulders. The second her eyes fell on Ash, a huge smile emerged on her face.

"Ash!"

"…_May,_ is that you?"

* * *

Next chapter! Sorry it took so long to put out, real life came along and slapped me around a whole lot, so I made this one longer to made up for it slightly. Chapters should be coming out much more regularly now.

As always feedback is more than appreciated as I am still very new to this. Thanks to all of you who have already read and followed, it means a lot!


	4. Chapter 4

_"Ash? Hey, Ash are you okay!?"_

Kneeling down beside Ash in the hallway, May was helplessly trying to figure out what had caused the always confident young trainer to have all of the life drained from him. Just earlier she had been woken by the sound of arguing, and while she had tried to ignore the noise the second she heard Ash's name the coordinator forced her drowsy feet to the floor, stumbling out into the hallway to find the source of the commotion. She had no idea that it was Misty who was on the other side of the disturbance, and she definitely hadn't a clue of what she and Ash were doing simply moments before. However none of that crossed her train of thought, as right now she was focused entirely on the boy she now held.

For a second she was overjoyed that she finally had Ash in her arms, but the thought was immediately overwritten by guilt as she mentally punished herself for being self-centred.

"Ash, what happened? Is everything alright?" Both of them were now hunched against the wall, with May sitting down before Ash as he had curled into a ball in her lap, head resting on her chest. Running her hand up and down his back in an attempt to soothe him she rested her chin on top of his messy hair, holding him as close as possible both in an effort to calm the teenager as well as to fulfil her own physical desire.

"Come on Ash, talk to me…" Almost convinced that he wouldn't reply, May could only estimate how many minutes passed as they both lay motionless together in the dimly-lit building. She herself was just about to nod off when Ash finally managed to mutter a single word.

"Misty…" By now he had stopped sobbing; resigning himself to the care of May as he slowly dozed off. Eventually he calmed down with his breathing returning to normal, the only sign of his previous breakdown the dried single tear staining his cheek. At this point he was mostly asleep, only being coherent on the most basic of levels, occasionally muttering something under his breath such as the name of the girl who he was just rejected by. Hearing that word only managed to make May furious though. Spending most of the day on the sidelines as Ash and Misty worked together to save her Togepi and help out the almost dream-like Mirage Kingdom a fierce jealousy had been brewing inside of her the entire time. It was the first situation where she had seen another girl who was just as close, if not closer with Ash than she was herself, and not only did she feel neglected May felt threatened. She already had enough trouble gaining the full attention of her sometimes absent-minded crush, and the thought of competing with another, older girl completely demolished her confidence.

Taking a deep breath both to calm herself and to stifle an oncoming yawn, May hugged Ash even tighter. "Come on Ash, just forget about it. Everything is going to be fine." By now, May was starting to piece together what had just happened. If she looked up Misty's door would be only a few steps away, and in trying to soothe Ash her hand had brushed against the tag of his shirt, which was inside out and hastily put on.

In that second it ticked over and May finally had a firm grasp on what was going on between the two trainers. For a while she had her suspicions, but now she was sure that all of those ideas running through her mind were true. With the anger and jealously that had been pooling inside of her May was just about ready to put Ash down and storm into Misty's room, demanding an explanation and chances are she would've, if a young barely conscious trainer didn't interfere. Just as May was about to sit up, her already limited vision in the darkness was suddenly obscured with a soft warm presence pressing itself up against her lips.

In his barely conscious state, Ash's mind was only able to process one thought. The girl he was so attached to had turned him down and denied him his desire to be close to her. Even though he would never admit it no matter who asked him he was hurt, and as such he was open to any opportunity to fill that rejection with a substitute. As it happens, his mind found a substitute in the girl that was holding him. She cared about him and would never hurt him and that was all the information his subconscious needed. Without regard for who it was or how they would react, Ash raised his head, his hand feebly gripping onto May's arm as he leant in and kissed her. He wouldn't remember it in the morning, but it made him feel secure and relaxed.

It was more than enough to keep May stunned for a moment. She was even more shocked than she originally was to find Ash in such a terrible state more than a few minutes ago and the action left her paralysed. She had no idea how to respond. That is, until Ash slowly started to pull away. Wrapping her arms tightly around his back to stop him from breaking off the weak embrace she locked her lips onto his in a kiss that was as inexperienced as the first one Misty and Ash shared back in Viridian and was one out of an extremely naïve yet pure desire.

May held onto Ash, keeping his lips pressed up against her own until her lungs were burning and screaming for air, and then she continued the kiss for a few moments more. Just as she felt her consciousness start to fade she was forced to break it off, taking in gasps of fresh air as her tired mind struggled to differentiate the present from a dream or reality. May wasn't the only one short of breath though as the need for air had just coaxed Ash back into consciousness himself.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness and his lungs were re-fuelled Ash was brought to the point where he was once again awake enough to convert events into memory and it was from this point on which he remembered, the last few minutes being non-existent as far as he was concerned.

"M…May? What're you doing out here?" His voice barely more than a hoarse whisper, Ash looked up at his friend as he pulled his shirt up to wipe off his cheeks. Although she thought so before, May now knew that Ash would have no idea that they kissed. Many an idea rushed through her head at that point even considering forcing her lips onto his once more to make sure he remembered, a thought which she entertained for longer than she should as his friend. But in the end May decided to pretend it never happened and to look out for the young boy who she cared so much about.

"I was just going to grab some water because I couldn't sleep, and found you lying against the wall out here. What were you even doing, Ash?"

Thinking that he could now salvage the situation without her ever knowing about his trip to Misty's room Ash cleared his throat, slowly standing up. "Ah, same. My throat's feeling scratchy too, so I went to get a drink for me and Pikachu." Despite putting on a brave face nothing would change the level of exhaustion that he was currently at, as his legs threatened to give out and he was forced to lean on the wall for support.

With a tired smile May moved to Ash's side and linked her arm with his, giving him support as they both walked back to his room. The second his head touched the pillow Ash was out cold, instantly falling into a deep sleep while a disturbed Pikachu, forgoing the urge to shock them both as he saw the state of his trainer simply forced his way under Ash's arm, cuddling up to him. Although May herself was now equally exhausted, she sat down besides his bed, linking one hand with his while running her other through his messy hair until his pained expression was replaced with one of a tired sleeping teenager.

* * *

Ever since then May had kept her relationship with Ash the same as it had been before, despite her obvious desire to be closer. She had Ash as the closest friend she'd ever know, a step above Brock and well above her rivals such as Drew while Ash saw her as his younger sister, who he would always protect and do anything for. Because he was unable to remember that kiss there was never any awkwardness between the pair, a trait which Misty came to admire and be slightly envious of.

"Ash!"

"…_May,_ is that you?"

Just as she stepped through the door into the lounge room, the beautiful coordinator flashed a brilliant smile the second she saw Ash. Putting his cup down on the table Ash stood up just in time to receive May in his arms, the two hugging each other in a tight embrace.

"Ash, it's so good to see you again!" Letting out a joyous laugh as Ash spun her around before putting her down, she gave him the smile which she had reserved for him and him alone, a privilege which he was unaware of.

"What're you even doing here? I thought the Grand Festival was on in Slateport soon?" Resting his hands on her shoulders, Ash took a step back as he looked at the childhood friend he hadn't seen in so long. She had grown even taller, being an inch or two above Misty while still just reaching the nose of the Pokémon Master, and even though he wouldn't have considered it possible she was even more beautiful than before. It was fortunate for him that he considered her a sister, or else his cheeks would be flush red due to the proximity of the young woman.

"Nope! It got delayed, so I had nothing to do. Then I ran into your friend Gary, and he told me that he was coming back here to help you train!" Looking back at Gary as she mentioned him, the Pokémon Professor offered Ash a simple shrug as if to say he was forced into bringing her along. "So I thought I'd drop by for a bit and say hi."

Turning to greet everyone else, May gave Brock a hug, then turning to offer Misty a friendly, polite hello before finally kneeling down to give Pikachu a scratch underneath his chin. Despite Misty's jealously towards May and May's previous anger towards the Water Pokémon expert, the two currently harboured no ill-intent towards the other. They were both close friends despite it all, May realising quickly that Misty would never intentionally hurt anyone let alone Ash, and Misty having no idea about May's feelings.

Of course her lack of knowledge on that matter didn't make it any easier to see how easily May and Ash interacted with each other.

After the greetings were finished, May took a seat besides Misty and Gary collapsed onto the couch next to Ash, giving him a punch in the arm before Ditto came to sit on his lap as it morphed into an Eevee.

"How are your contests going anyway, May?" Speaking up Brock looked at May as she settled into her seat, curious as to how one of his closest friends was doing.

"Great! I already have 5 ribbons, despite a lot of the contests being cancelled due to one of the judges being sick." Beaming with pride, she took out her PokeGear to show a photo of her holding up a Ribbon Case, filled with 5 different awards from many of the contests in Hoenn.

"Ah, I was wondering why the Grand Festival would've been delayed." Misty said, as she herself had recently become a fan of Contests after hearing of May's battle against a world renowned Water Pokémon coordinator.

"Yeah, a lot of people were concerned about the lack of contests being available to get enough Ribbons to enter, so it's been delayed for quite a while." With a serious expression whenever she talked about contests, it went straight back to a bright smile as she switched the conversation to her friends; specifically Ash. "It's a good thing I got all 5 Ribbons early enough so I can drop by, huh?"

With everyone nodding in agreement, Professor Oak spoke up. "Well, now that you're here you could help Ash out with his training! I'm sure his battling style could always use a bit more finesse."

Ash let out a nervous chuckle while scratching the back of his head as Oak took a harmless jab at his occasionally unrefined battling style just as May sat up in her seat, obviously excited. "Wait, are you sure? I thought this was something really serious. I wouldn't want to get in the way…"

"Well it's up to Ash, but I'm sure another pair of helping hands could only do good for him." Crossing his arms and closing his eyes, the Professor nodded to himself as if to back his own opinion up.

"That sounds like a great idea Professor!" Offering May a smile as encouragement, Ash's excitement grew even larger as more and more of his friends seemed to be joining back together. "If this is going to be as hard as you make it out to be I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get."

"Hah, couldn't agree more." Smirking to himself, Gary then had the arm punch from earlier returned with even more force.

Everyone in the room either laughed or smiled at the exchange between Ash and Gary, all of them more than content to be back in a room with some of their closest friends. For a moment a comfortable silence reigned above them all until Ash spoke up with an important question.

"Sooo, uh… where is all of this going to happen?" With a small group of people now rallying around him to support Ash in his training, he couldn't help but question where all of this was going to take place. As he and May both looked at Professor Oak expectantly, the rest had a knowledgeable smug crossing their faces.

Finally opening his eyes again after an intense session of serious nodding, Oak offered a bright smile. "Right here, Ash."

"…Pardon?"

"All of your training is going to take place here at my Lab. All of your Pokémon are already here, and there's more than enough room for everyone else's as well, not to mention accommodation. Really, there is no reason to go anywhere else."  
"Oh. Well, yeah. That makes sense. So you're all going to stay here at the lab, then?"

While most of the group nodded, May raised her voice nervously. "Uhh, I don't actually have a place to stay… I kind of forgot about that point." Lowering her head and putting her hands on her knees, she looked towards Professor Oak humbly. "Sorry Professor, but is there any room here?"

"Well… we are pushing it as it is, especially since some associates of mine will be dropping by in a week or so." Rubbing his chin in thought, an idea suddenly came to Oak. "Wait, I know! Delia was talking to me earlier and offered a spot in her house for anyone who needed it. I'm sure she'd love to have you stay there, May."

It took all of her willpower to stop her cheeks from erupting in an intense flush at the thought of staying in the same house as Ash. "Well, I wouldn't want to intrude…"

"Don't be stupid May; you know my mum loves having you over. Knowing her she'll probably get upset if you _don't_ come and stay with us."

Anyone would've lost count at the amount of times May had smiled at Ash today, but she added another to the count. "Are you sure? That would be great Ash!"

"Well, that's settled then. You can stay with the Ketchums, while Brock, Misty and of course Gary will stay at the lab with me."

Mostly everyone nodded in agreement with that idea, except for one. Realising that May and Ash were going to be sharing a house for at least a month, the jealously inside Misty reached a critical point, causing her to speak out suddenly before she could think. "Oh, Professor I'll be staying at Ash's house as well!"

Suffice to say that was news enough to give everyone else pause, especially Ash. Looking towards Misty, utterly confused, he was going to ask a question but was beaten to it by Professor Oak.

"Oh? I thought you needed a place to stay here."

Of course Misty already had politely asked Oak for a room, sorting it all out. A part of her wanted to cover her mouth and pretend that she didn't say anything, but it was too late for that.

"Uhh… I was speaking to Ash's mum earlier, and she insisted that I stayed with them. Sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier." It was all a lie, but she had dug herself into a hole and lying seemed to be the only way out. "As long as that's okay with you, Ash."

Swallowing the lump in his throat Ash barely got out a reply. "Y-yeah, sure thing Misty."

The only person who was as stunned as Ash was May. Looking at the water Pokémon trainer, for a second she began to think that Misty had planned it to be as close to Ash as possible, with flashbacks of Ash walking out of her room at night suddenly appearing in her mind. She quickly dismissed the thought though. Whatever had happened between Ash and Misty was long in the past, and even if it wasn't Cerulean City wasn't that far from Pallet town anyway. If she wanted to make a move, she would have done so already. That's what May told herself.

"That definitely sounds like Delia alright; she has been talking about seeing you kids together again for the past month straight." Despite them all technically being adults, Oak saw the group still as if it was the day Ash left with his Pikachu, and he was probably the only one who could still get away with calling them kids. "Well, that's that. Now how about you all go and let your Pokémon out so they can get settled in?"

"Good idea gramps." Standing up as Ditto morphed back to normal and sat on his shoulder, Gary motioned to the rest of the group. "C'mon guys, let's go let our Pokémon out."

The group of them all stretched and yawned as they walked out into the fresh air. Looking around spanned a huge Pokémon habitat, populated in part by wild Pokémon but especially with those caught by Ash. As he stepped back out many of them waved to him, but one Pokémon in particular saught his attention and help above the rest.

"_Rooooooooooooar_!"

"_Charizard, stay still! It's hard to draw when you keep fidgeting like that."_

"Was that... Tracey?" Jogging over to his distraught Pokémon, Ash found Charizard in a majestic pose, wings extended and claws at the ready. In front of it was Tracey, the Pokémon watcher frantically scribbling down on his pad with a lead pencil. "Tracey, what're you doing with my Charizard?"

Taking a few seconds for his words to reach Tracey's ears through the intense concentration he had, when he did acknowledge the presence of his old friend he spun around, a wide smile on his face as he offered a brief wave. Then as quickly as he turned, he was back to sketching Charizard. Of course living at Oak's Tracey had the opportunity to see Ash and his Pokémon fairly frequently, but Charizard was one Pokémon that he never got the chance to properly sketch.

"Tracey, leave my Charizard alone. How long have you had it there for anyway?"

"Oh, only about 10 minutes. I don't understand why he hates staying still for so long!"

"I'm just surprised you managed to get his Charizard to do anything you said, to be honest." Speaking through a slight sigh, Misty shook her head at Tracey.

"Wait, Misty is that you?" Turning around again, he finally realised the presence of the other 3 standing next to Ash. "Misty, Brock it's good to see you again!" Putting down his pencil and pad he jogged over, reaching out to shake Brocks hand before giving Misty a brief hug. "Good to see you too, Gary, and you May. I didn't realise you were all here already."

Nodding in response, Gary looked at Charizard, examining it seriously as it still looked to its trainer for help.

"Aww, poor Charizard." Walking over to the powerful Pokémon May reached out and scratched it under its chin, leading to a deep low grumble of approval coming out of its throat. As she offered her comfort, Pikachu who had been leading the group out of the lab hopped up onto Charizard's shoulder.

"It's okay Charizard; you don't have to pose anymore." Letting out a triumphant roar, Charizard flapped its wings and shot up into the air, instantly messing up everyone's hair (although May was the only one to care) before soaring around in the sky with Pikachu on its back. Besides Ash himself, Pikachu was probably the only one who was allowed to join Charizard on his routine flights, leading to the electric Pokémon yelling out with glee as it rushed through the sky.

"Hey, I wasn't done sketching yet!" With a defeated look on his face, Tracey quickly shook it off, beginning to talk to Misty and Brock in an effort to catch up with the two.

"Your Charizard is looking stronger than ever, Ash." Watching the powerful fire type fly around, Gary gave a slight nod of approval before looking over at its trainer.

"Of course! He only came back from the Charicific valley a few weeks ago. Liza says he's the strongest there now."

"Good. I've got a rough idea of what the competition is going to be like and believe me Ash, you're going to need Pokémon like that if you even want to make it through the first round."

"The first round?" Looking back up at his Charizard with Gary, Ash's mind began to wander as he thought of the challenges he was going to face. Charizard was undoubtedly his most powerful Pokémon, capable of going toe-to-toe even legendaries as it had demonstrated way back in the Battle Frontier. He always saw the dragon-like Pokémon as his back-up or safety blanket, relying on it in the toughest times to scrape him through.

He knew that he shouldn't take Gary's words lightly though, and if the competition was going to be _that_ tough, he would need to undergo some serious training. For a moment the two stood together, watching Charizard until the tension was broken by Brock.

"Come on then, let's let our Pokémon out." Reaching into his bag he got hold of something, bringing his hands up to send some Pokeballs flying into the air. "Let's go guys, come out and say hi!"

A bright red light coming out from the 4 balls, Brock's Steelix, Crobat, Swampert and Chansey appeared in front of the group, all calling out in greeting. Steelix let out an almost deafening roar, whilst Crobat went to sit on its trainers shoulders. As for Swampert and Chansey, they both waved in greeting.

"Woah, awesome! When did your Marshtomp evolve?" Rushing forward to greet the Pokémon, Ash examined them all with the curiosity of an experienced Pokémon trainer, recalling everything he knew about them instead of reaching for his Pokedex as he used to.

"A few months back. I was helping my brother train so that he could look after the gym, and Swampert wasn't too thrilled that he kept losing to Steelix. So, it decided to evolve I guess." Reaching out Brock opened his hand to reveal a few PokeBlocks, offering them to his Pokémon. Each of them grabbing one, Chansey took two, eating one for itself before walking over to give Steelix its own special PokeBlock. "Steelix, Crobat and Swampert were all really excited to get some good training in with your own Pokémon Ash, and Chansey is here to help me look after everyone." With the proud smile of a caring Pokémon Breeder, Brock stood beside his Pokémon.

"Man, all of your Pokémon are incredible Brock! Do you think I could sketch them later?" His mind always on the one thing he was best at, Tracey looked across all 4 healthy Pokémon excitedly. Of course Brock agreed. "Awesome. Alright, I need to head back up and help out the Professor for a bit. I'll see you all later!"

Running off to the lab as he waved behind his back, the others all waved in unison at the overly energetic watcher.

"Well, guess it's my turn then." Stepping to the side to give his Pokémon and Brock's enough room, Gary reached for his belt. "Let's go guys!" With 4 PokeBalls of his own, Gary threw them up, letting Blastoise, Umbreon, Electivire and Scizor come out. All of them cried out with their respective names, warmly greeting the rest of the group as Pokémon would. Blastoise however had its attention moved from Gary instantly. Spotting Charizard, one of its old rivals up in the air the powerful tortoise-like Pokémon called out.

"_Blastoise!_" Instantly grabbing Charizards attention, it came flying back down at an amazing speed with Pikachu on its back. Landing directly in front of Blastoise the two stared each other down.

"Uhh, guys? Shouldn't you do something before they start arguing? Or fighting?" Nervously calling out to Ash and Gary, May took a step back from the two powerful examples of what the starter Pokémon of Kanto can become. Despite her worries, both Ash and Gary simply smiled.

"It's fine May. Charizard and Blastoise have had too much respect for the other ever since the Silver Conference to do anything like that." As he replied, Ash looked at his Charizard with pride. After the two had finished staring off they both nodded and broke their gaze, Blastoise returning to stand by Gary's other Pokémon while Charizard walked over to Ash, laying down beside him.

"I'm sure all of these guys are eager to help you out with your training Ash, one of them more than the others. Leaning on his starter Pokémon, Gary gave Blastoise a light pat on its shell. "Alright you four, we'll all be staying back here at Gramps' for a while. Go make yourself at home." Nodding to their trainer in unison, the group of powerful Pokémon walked off, each going to their respective environments within the habitat to settle in.

"Same to you guys, feel free to treat this place as home. Just remember to be up bright and early to help us out if we need it." Dismissing his Pokémon in turn, Brock gave them a brief wave as they all dispersed, the ground softly rumbling beneath Steelix while it went to find a new temporary home. As they all left, many of Ash's Pokémon had gone to greet them, recognizing their old friends.

"I wish I would've known that I was going to be helping out, or I would've brought more Pokémon along." Looking down to her belt, May picked up the one PokeBall she had with her. "Sorry Ash, all I've got on me is Blaziken." Opening the ball, May's own starter Pokémon let out a loud cry as it emerged, looking around with a smile as Pikachu jumped up on its shoulder.

Shrugging at his friend, Ash offered a simple solution. "Just talk to the Professor later, I'm sure he can get in touch with your Dad and have him send some more Pokémon across if you like.

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea. Your grandfather wouldn't mind having some of my Pokémon stay here as well, would he Gary?"  
"Nah, as long as you let him study them he'd be more than happy to."

"Awesome! I'll get in touch with my dad first thing tomorrow then." Turning to her Blaziken, May told it about the upcoming tournament. "So, you ready to help Ash train then Blaziken?" In reply it let out a loud roar, the flames on its wrists igniting.

"I think that's a yes, Ash." Offering him that unique smile again, May couldn't help but giggle to herself as the realisation of staying with her closest friend in the world hit her once more.

"Thanks Blaziken. I'm sure Sceptile would be dying for a rematch, as well." The flames on its wrists growing even larger, Blaziken then set off to explore its new home after May dismissed it. As it walked off, Pikachu hopped down from its shoulder and onto Ash's once more. "Hey buddy, you getting excited yet?"

"Pika, Pika pi!" Probably the only one who could mirror Ash's enthusiasm alongside Charizard, who was still comfortably laying next to Ash, sparks began to fly from its cheeks before he received a rough pat on the head from his trainer.

"What about you Misty, where are all your Pokémon?" Looking back at Misty, Ash noticed that she had none of her PokeBalls on her.

"I've already dropped all of my Pokémon off. I figured you would be late this morning as always, so I went by the water habitat and let them out. Last I saw they were all settling in."

Letting out a short snort, Gary chuckled to himself. "Yeah you could say that. Even on my way here your Gyarados looked like it had already started to run the place."

"Woah, you've got your Gyarados here Misty?" As always, Ash got excited at the mention of any powerful Pokémon. Gyarados was of course going to be no exception.

"Yup. I knew you'd need the strongest Pokémon I had in order to help you train effectively, so I brought him along with a few others. You're welcome to go and say hi whenever you want to."

"Uhh, maybe later." Although he was confident in his abilities as a trainer, Misty's Gyarados was one Pokémon which always managed to make Ash _slightly_ nervous, no matter what. Although Misty managed to calm the enraged Pokémon, she was the only one that it would ever listen to. On top of that Gyarados was extremely protective of her, and he heard first hand what happens to someone who approaches it. A brave Tracey, wanting to sketch the impressive Pokémon went to see it in Misty's gym by himself. Shortly after he was running away, entirely drenched and with a good number of his sketches soaked and ruined.

Giggling as she noticed Ash's hesitation, Misty offered him some reassurance. "Gyarados has calmed down a lot now Ash, you don't need to worry about getting wet. I'm sure some of my other Pokémon will be happy to see you as well."

Even though Ash had the unfortunate habit of becoming nervous any time Misty spoke, she still had the talent of being able to calm him down no matter the situation. After all, she was the first to ever meet him, and arguably knew more about him than anyone else. Besides his mum, of course.

"Alright, I'll go say hi a bit later." Ash agreed, although there was no way he'd be greeting that Gyarados without Pikachu on his shoulder for back-up. "Oh yeah, Misty. When're we starting?"

Looking at Brock and Gary, Misty searched for an answer. Both of them having nothing to offer but a shrug, she turned back to Ash. "Tomorrow…? I guess?"

"It's not a very strict thing, Ash." Speaking up, Brock tried to explain it as best he could. "There's no official timeline for this or structure. The Indigo League basically called us up and told us to make sure you're as ready as you can be for this tournament. All of the specifics are up to us."

All of a sudden Ash leant back and let out a long and louder than necessary sigh. "Ahh, that's such a relief. I was worried that there would be League officials running around the place telling me what to do. You all have no idea how boring they are."

"Pika." Nodding in agreement to back his partner up, Pikachu pulled a long face and started talking gibberish, obviously imitating one of the boring officials they've had to deal with over the course of their tournaments.

* * *

For the next few hours the group sat down in the fields of the Oak Laboratory, talking about whatever came into their minds as they watched the various Pokémon living there run about. They kept this up until the sun began to sink through the horizon with Brock bringing out his cooking set and making a stew for a belated lunch, even though the Lab's kitchen was only a few minutes away. It seemed as if they were all just content to forget about everything and go back to the days where they travelled, despite May and Misty never having properly travelled together and Gary having always been off on his own. It had been years since any of them had the opportunity to relax together and by the time night came they were talking as if none of them had spent any time apart whatsoever, all previous awkwardness simply dissipating.

By the time they all realised how late it was they were sitting around in a loose circle, Pikachu nodding off to sleep in May's lap as Charizard rested its head in Ash's, content to receive neck scratches while its tail provided enough heat for them all. Gary was lying on his back in the grass, stomach still stuffed with Brock's food from earlier in the day as he had become a fan the first time he tasted the highly spoken of meals and Brock himself rested up against a tree, almost dozing off.

As for Misty, she let out a soft yawn before slowly standing up. "Well, I'm going to get a head start and head off to your place Ash. I promised your mum I'd help her cook dinner earlier on and she's probably getting ready right now." Of course she was lying, the real reason being that she needed to go apologise and ask Delia for a place to stay as nicely as possible since she had invited herself earlier.

As she stood up everyone else fidgeted, the late hour causing them all to get ready to head home.

"Oh, can I talk to you for a second Ash?" Beckoning him over as she walked out of earshot Ash nervously stood up and followed, looking towards Brock who gave him a confused look as the rest of the small group started packing up. By the time they both stopped walking they couldn't see anyone else anymore, and were actually at the entrance gates to the Lab. Catching up with Misty Ash found her leaning on the fence, looking up as the moon started to become barely visible through the light of dusk.

"You uhh, wanted to talk to me Misty?" Stopping a few steps behind her, Ash struggled to keep his breathing and heart-rate in check, although that problem was solved in a round-about way the second Misty turned around. For a second, with the moon-light giving her frame a perfect silhouette in the dim lightning Ash was lost for words and breath, as for that one moment he was sure that he had never seen, nor ever would see a woman as beautiful as the one who stood in-front of him. Her hair fanned out behind her in a photo-shoot like fashion, with her eyes seeming to shine as they reflected light straight into his own.

Instead of speaking up, Misty simply offered him a sweet gentle smile and quickly stepped towards him, throwing her arms around his back as she pulled him into a tight hug. Unlike before where they were equal high as young teenagers she now buried her head into her chest, his chin resting on top of her head. Holding on for a brief moment as Ash remained completely stunned, she broke off the hug, leaning up on the tips of her toes to plant a delicate kiss on his cheek. "It's good to see you again, Ash." Offering her smile once more, she spun around and started jogging off. "I need to go help your mum, I'll see you soon!"

At the same time both trainers had their cheeks go red hot with embarrassment, Ash trying to figure out what had happened while Misty failed to believe that she actually went through with it.

"_Hey, Ash!_

Calling out just as Misty went out of view Brock waved down to Ash from the top of the hill, all of his gear packed up on his back.

"We're going inside now, I'll see you tomorrow okay!"

Quickly snapping himself out of the daze Misty left him in, Ash turned around to give Brock and Gary a brief wave as they walked back over the summit of the hill, getting ready to retire. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air he began to clear his mind, resting his hands on top of his head as he tried his very best to figure out what it was exactly what Misty had going on in her head.

"Soooo, what did Misty want?"

Ash was almost entirely sure he was alone, but a loud voice appearing directly next to his ear made him jump out of his skin with a loud yelp. Not paying attention to his surroundings, May had quietly snuck up on him, Pikachu on her shoulder. Turning to scold her, Ash couldn't help but hear the sound of his Charizard laughing in the distance.

"Shit May, when did you get here?" Hurt and slightly embarrassed, Ash put on his best 'pouty' face, aiming to guilt trip his friend for what she had done. It didn't work though, and both her and Charizard started laughing even harder.

His fake pout turning real, Ash started walking off home. "Yeah yeah, very funny May. And she just wanted to ask a few things about home, that's all."

"Oooooh, well that's no fun." Teasing to cover up her internal sigh of relief, May quickly placed Pikachu down before jogging up to reach Ash, leaning on his side and wrapping her arms around his.

"Uhh, you alright there May?" Looking down, Ash gave her a quizzical look. Considering the nature of their relationship Ash thought nothing of the gesture, having no idea that May took advantage of his thickness to get physically close to him like this almost every time they were together.

"Shut up, you're nice and warm." Resting her head on his shoulder the two began walking down the path to Ash's home, the cool air breeze caressing them with nothing but the sound of their footsteps, the rustling of wild Pokémon in the grass around them and the occasional flap of Charizard's wings. That peaceful quietness was quickly broken though.

"Hey Ash?"

"What's up?"

"Why're we walking?"  
Shifting his gaze to look down at May while they walked, Ash replied with a confused look.

"It's _cooooold_, and I'm tired."

"Hey that's your problem, not mine." That got him a quick elbow in the side.

"You're just doing this to torture me, aren't you?"

"Am not."

"Are so."

"Am not."

"Uhh, you are so!"

"Am not!"

"_Pika!_"

"Thanks for the back-up buddy."

"Oh come on Ash, there has to be a faster way of getting home; I've been walking all week to get here!" To emphasise her point May started purposefully dragging her feet on the ground, keeping her hold on Ash to slow him down with her.

"What, you want me to carry you there?"

"That's a great idea!" With her energy levels suddenly spiking, she wrapped her arms around his neck, jumping up in a fashion to cause Ash to pick her up in the traditional princess carry.

"May, this isn't happening." Now it was May's turn to pout at Ash, and it was just as ineffective on him as it was on her.

"Come _onnnn_, isn't there any other way we can get back to your place?"

Despite his protests Ash had continued to carry May as they walked, almost ready to accept his fate as Coordinator-Carrier™ before an even better idea popped into his mind.

"Ash, why do you have that creepy look on your face…?"

A few minutes later, May was screaming at the top of her lungs with her face buried into Ash's back, arms wrapped around his stomach as tightly as possible. Both Ash and May, along with Pikachu in-front of them both were sitting on Charizard's back as it flew through the air high above Pallet. If May mustered the courage to look down she would see the road passing beneath them at an incredible pace, even if the route they were taking was a bit more of a scenic one.

"You're the one that asked for this May, remember!"

Considering just how fast they were going May was too shocked to enjoy the fact that she was holding onto Ash so tightly. Charizard was having dangerous levels of fun hearing the Coordinator react as it took sharp turn after sharp turn, although it made sure to concentrate enough so that neither Ash nor May were ever in the slightest trouble.

Both Pokémon and trainer laughed together, taking their time flying through the air until Ash finally called for Charizard to take the direct route.

"Come on buddy, let's go home now."

"Ash Ketchum, I am going to _kill_ you when we land!"

Deciding that he had teased her enough, Ash placed his hand on top of hers, giving it a tight squeeze. "May, trust me when I say that you're safer up here on Charizard's back than you are on the ground. There's no way I'd take you up here if I wasn't sure of that."

Tearing her face away from the safety of his back to look at him May's expression was quickly overtaken by a smile, interlocking her fingers with his to give his hand a squeeze back in reply. Finally mustering her courage as Charizard started flying steady she looked out, amazed to see almost all of Pallet Town beneath her.

"Woah… It's beautiful, Ash." Her smile being replaced by an almost childish grin of amazement, she scanned the horizon as far as she could see, mentally spotting out landmarks as her gaze crossed from Pallet all the way to Viridian. "Do you see this every day when you fly up here with Charizard?"

"Yup. You really should get yourself a large flying type, May." Patting Charizards neck as it roared out in agreement, Ash then pointed down to his house as it came up beneath them. "Take us down Charizard, we're home."

Circling around their house a few times just to sate May's sudden enjoyment of flying, they eventually landed directly in-front of Ash's house, while frantically yelled at Charizard to look out for all of Delia's plants. Pikachu hopped off first, running straight inside as it picked up the scent of his dinner cooking. Then Ash nimbly jumped off, patting Charizard on the neck again before reaching out to offer his hand to May.

Not getting off immediately May turned to the trainer, "Hey, Ash? Can we do this again sometime?"

"Huh? Uhh yeah, sure thing May." Thinking it no big deal Ash took her hand, helping her off of the large fire-type, allowing it to stand up and stretch its neck and back. "Alright, let's go eat!" Running off towards the smell of dinner while Charizard stomped it's way gleefully around to the back where its own food was already waiting, May stood out the front of the house for a moment longer, eyes following after Ash.

"I've missed you, Ash Ketchum."

For the next hour Ash, Misty, May and Delia all ate together, all of the talking dominated by Delia as she bombarded Misty and May with questions about their life in general while Ash remained content to stuff his face the entire time. Since his mouth was too busy to effectively communicate along with the others there was no awkward moments or breaks in the flow of conversation. If anyone had been listening they would've thought them to be a normal family if anything, each of them getting along with the other perfectly.

By the time dinner had finished Ash was lying back in his chair, resting his hand on his bloated stomach after eating well over double his share, Pikachu mimicking the exact same pose on the floor beside night was drawing to a close, everyone stifling yawns and just about ready to go to bed as Ash remembered a critical question relevant to their new housing situation.

"Uhh, mum… where is everyone sleeping?"

Of course Delia had already sorted this all out the second Misty came and almost begged for a place to stay. "Oh, I've got all that figured out already Ash! Misty is all set up in the guest room, and May is going to be taking your bed for tonight until I get another mattress set up." Smiling at her son with a sweet grin, she seemed to be hiding something behind her expression.

"Wait, May is in my bed? Where am I sleeping then?"  
"Where do you think, sweetie?"  
A few hours later with everyone sound asleep, Ash found himself staring up at the ceiling in the living room, his feet hanging over the edge of the couch as he struggled to find sleep on his temporary new 'bed' after being kicked out of his own.

"This is bullshit, Pikachu." 

* * *

Next chapter done! I did promise that it wouldn't take as long as last time.

Hope those of you following are still enjoying it, and I hope everyone that's reading it for the first time enjoyed it as well. All constructive feedback is more than welcome, and as always thank-you for taking the time to read through it and a huge thank-you to those who do leave feedback and favourite/follow, it gives me ridiculous amounts of motivation to know even if a small number of you are interested in what I've got to write :)

Training starts tomorrow!


	5. Chapter 5

If there was any real benefit to sleeping on the couch, it would be that the windows in the living room perfectly angled the morning light directly onto Ash's eyes bright and early. Of course he would never see this as a benefit, but it served as the ideal alarm clock to wake up and get going.

Letting out a long groan of discomfort he slowly opened his eyes, disorientated for the slightest moment before remembering why it was that he was stuck out on the couch. Beginning to grumble about the two new guests in his house, he gave the resting mouse Pokémon a soft poke to wake it up. However, Pikachu wasn't there.

"Wait, what? Where the hell are you Pikachu?" His voice still soft due to the early hour Ash rose up into a sitting position, scanning the living room. After the huge struggle to get out of 'bed' Ketchum checked under the couch, under the table, everywhere in the room to see where a sleeping Pikachu might've rolled off to, but there was no sign of his friend. Deciding to leave it for the time being he gave up, heading off to the shower while grabbing an apple on the way.

Ash was barely conscious for the first half an hour after rising, forcing his body through its typical morning routine. Due to his sleeping conditions he was not remotely well rested and as such not even a hot morning shower was enough to properly wake up, the trainer walking through his house wearing naught but a towel without a single coherent thought running through his mind.

A few moments later he was in his room upstairs, sorting through his clothes to find something suitable for training. If left alone there was a good chance he wouldn't be functionally awake until half-way to the Professor's house, but luckily for him there was someone else eager to help him along.

"Lookin' _goood,_ Ketchum!"

Jumping out of his skin and grabbing onto the towel just in time to have some miniscule amount of decency remain; Ash turned the front of his body away from the woman in his bed. He didn't have an unattractive figure, if anything all of his training made the opposite more than true, and May's words definitely carried some truth to them but it wasn't necessarily something that Ash flaunted.

"Jesus, _fucking_ shit May!"

"Hey, watch the language! You're living in a house full of beautiful, impressionable women after all."

Quickly throwing a shirt over his head before ensuring that the towel wasn't going anywhere, Ash turned to address the bed thief. Glancing over he also found Pikachu lying on the bed right next to May, in the same spot where it normally rests.

Noticing its trainer and partner Pikachu let out a long sigh, stretching out in an over-exaggerated fashion just to ensure that Ash knew how comfortable of a sleep it had.

"_Chaaaaa….."_

Whispering 'traitor' under his breath Ash made eye contact with May. "You know, you _could've_ said something right when I walked in rather than screw with me like that."

Giggling to herself May had the covers up to her chin, lying on her side with half of her face covered by her long, brown hair.

"Think of it as revenge for making Charizard mess with me last night."

"That's so not fair, you ended up having the time of your life up there."

"And _you_ could end up having the time of your life right here."

Mustering all of his willpower to try and force the redness away from his cheeks and ignore what May just said, Ash sorted through his drawers to get the rest of his clothes out, laying them out before him.

"Can you _please_ go downstairs for a moment so I can get changed? "  
"Nope! No can do."

"Why not?"

"'Cause I'm naked under these covers, duh."

Wondering to himself why he is spending the first morning of training trying desperately not to picture one of his closest friends naked, Ash motioned for Pikachu to hop off, opening his PokeBlock case over his palm which was full of energy snacks, specifically designed by Professor Oak for electric types.

"There's no way you're naked right now, May."

"Wanna come and find out?"

Taking a moment to kneel down and focus his mind, flooding out every mental picture of May dominating his thoughts Ash looked back over at his bed. From this angle the mischievous coordinators face was slightly higher than his, with half of her face still covered by his sheets. In a brief moment of Déjà vu he was reminded of that night back in Viridian where he was looking up to the top bunk, finding Misty in the exact same position.

Closing his eyes and shaking his head Ash picked up a single sock that was laying next to him on the floor, throwing it straight at May. "You do realise this room leaks sound really badly, right? How do you think Misty and my mum are reacting to you right now?"

Where there was previously the smirk of a prankster, May's expression was immediately replaced by one of pure horror. Despite her earlier confidence in jesting she was overcome with embarrassment in a second, yanking the sheets over her so fast that Pikachu slid off the bed as its seat flew out from underneath him.

"Pika?!" Landing on its back with a soft thump, he then got up and grudgingly walked over to Ash, giving the human-sized pile of sheets behind him death glares on the way.

"_Oh god oh god oh god!_" Her voice muffled, May rolled up into a ball, the thought of Misty and Delia hearing her offering Ash a spot in bed right next to her more than enough to leave her in a mortified state. "Why didn't you say something earlier, Ash!?"

Both hands covering his mouth Ash could only stop himself from bursting out into laughter for a few more seconds, before he threw his head back and let out a resounding laugh.  
"Ahahahaha! Oh my god, May! You should've seen your face!"

Deciding that it was way too early to be dealing with human stupidity Pikachu walked off downstairs, opening the door by just a crack as it descended the stairs while nibbling on its own custom PokeBlock.

Ash's bellowing laughs were only stopped when the sock he just threw came right back at him, hitting him square in the face.

"May this room might as well be soundproof, there's no way that anyone heard you being an idiot." Now standing back up Ash went to put on his shirt, while an infuriated May threw the sheets off of her, grabbing a pillow before storming over to start assaulting Ash. Contrary to what she previously said she wasn't naked, simply wearing a long over-sized singlet providing coverage from a few inches below her collarbone down to the middle of her thighs.

"Ash… You. Are. So. Dead!" Still furious, May channelled all of her strength into pounding the pillow against Ash, even if it merely rebounded off of his chest with absolutely no effect whatsoever. Deciding that after embarrassing her to such an extent that the least he could do is take a beating for a few moments, a bit later Ash caught her by the wrists, shaking her arms to make her drop the pillow. Neither of them had any thought as to what they looked like in this situation, but thankfully for the pair someone else was there to do that job for them.

"Oops, am I interrupting something? I'll come back in a little bit, sorry!" While the two yelled and playfully fought, Delia had poked her head through the crack in the door just in time to see the two half-naked teenagers, Ash holding May up against himself with their clothes spread across the floor and the bed sheets completely messed up. No matter how someone looked at it, there was simply no innocent way to interpret the situation. The instant they both realised just how bad they looked, both of their faces turned the brightest shade of red imaginable on a human.

Ash and May froze for a moment, both staring back at Delia as she ducked out of the room. Then the two started moving with a burst of energy. Scrambling over to the door, they almost tripped over each other multiple times before reaching the stairs.

"Wait, no no no no it's not what it looked like!" Descending 3 steps at a time, they both shoved and pushed the other into the wall, struggling to get ahead to try and prove their innocence. It wasn't until they landed at the bottom of the stairs that they raised their heads and looked around for Delia. However instead of Ms. Ketchum the only person in sight was Misty, standing a few feet away from the duo in the kitchen as she packed her bag, jaw dropping to the floor the second she saw them

"Uhhh…." For a moment the trio stared at each other, Ash struggling to make eye-contact with Misty while May waved her hands in front of her, shaking her head from side to side.  
"What…. What, why are you both naked?"

Absolutely lost for words, Ash stood in shocked silence trying to force a single word out of his mouth. Meanwhile, Misty had a thousand and one thoughts rushing through her head.

"What were you two just doing…?"

"Nothing, I swear! Nothing at all, May was just-" Suddenly the young trainer was cut off mid-sentence, as May brought her hand up across the back of his head in a violent manner

"Don't you try and put all the blame on me! You're the idiot who walked into my room only wearing a towel!"

"Of course it's your fault! You kept trying to get me into bed with you!"

"That was a joke!"

"Going a bit far for a joke, aren't we?"

Throwing her arms up in a fit of rage May turned around, running back up the steps towards the safety of Ash's bed sheets, where she could hide beneath them for as long as she needed to avoid everyone.

"You're _dead_ ketchum!" Sticking her head through the doorway to throw another pillow down at Ash, May then slammed the door shut behind her as she went back to hiding.

"Oi, May! Wait up!" Not wanting to be shut out of his own room Ash turned around, bounding back up the stairs with one hand holding his towel in place. "C'mon May, you can't lock me out of my own room."

"Too bad, I just did!"  
"Open up already!" Banging on the door, Ash decided that first, at least, he needed to put a shirt on. "Let me in, my clothes are still all over the floor!"

"_You aren't making this sound any better!_"

* * *

"So, sounds like you had an interesting night."

Walking down one of the streets of Pallet towards the Oak Laboratory, Misty felt as if she had to do something to break the silence. And what better way than by teasing Ash?

A defeated look crossing Ash's face he hung his head down while forcing one foot in front of the other. The sun had risen just past dawn to illuminate the country road with blazing heat, enough to cause a hill in the distance to shimmer. However Ash and Misty were completely cool with Charizard flying above to both soak up the sun and prove them with ample shade.

With a weak groan, Ash replied. "I thought we were over this already. I spent all of last night sleeping on that couch, and went to get changed forgetting that May was in my bed."

Raising her eyebrow, Misty pushed the question. "You suuuure? Didn't hop in with her to get a little after she so kindly offered?" Taking a step closer to Ash she nudged him in the arm with a cheeky smile.

"Nope. Not even for a second, and you know that it was a joke."

Jumping in front of Ash for a moment Misty halted them both to grab Ash by the face. She looked into his eyes for a moment, her hands covering up the growing blush on his cheeks before she apparently came to a conclusion.

"Yeah, I guess you're telling the truth." Just as she decided, both trainers squinted their eyes as Charizard kept on flying ahead oblivious to their pause, the bright sun now shining down directly onto their faces.

"You're a lot more boring than I remember Ketchum, any other guy would jump at an offer from someone as beautiful as May."

"You know, it almost sounds as if you're complaining that I _didn't_ do anything."

"No, no of course not!" Unable to stop herself from replying truthfully, Misty turned her back on Ash, resuming her false act of indifference after the quick outburst. "Just curious, is all."

The two jogged to catch up to Charizard's shadow before slowing back down to match its pace, the professor's laboratory now coming up after they reached the peak of the hill.

"May is like a little sister to me. I couldn't think about her in that way even if I wanted to."

Misty had to try her best to stop a small, smug grin from breaking out as she heard that.

"You know it doesn't look that way, right? Anybody would think you two are dating."

"Wait, really?" Even as he matured and became the Pokémon Master of Kanto, Ash was still just as much of a blockhead as ever. "We're just really good friends…"

"I know, Ash. It would be surprising if you _weren't_ that close after spending so much time together." Looking back at Ash, Misty gave him a sweet smile. "Just be careful, okay? You don't want to give anyone the wrong idea and end up hurting them, even if you'd never do it on purpose."

"Yeah, I guess you're right… It could be pretty confusing if other people start thinking that me and May are dating."

Letting out a small moan of disapproval, Misty leant over and gave Ash a soft shove. Caught off guard Ash stumbled to the side, resorting to hopping on one leg to regain balance at the edge of the road.

"H-hey, what was that for?"

"Blockhead."

As tempted as he was to reply, if Ash had learnt anything from his time travelling with Misty it was that sometimes it was just better to let her win. It's not as if he had time to reply properly anyway, as the two had just come up to the gate to a rather surprising sight.

As Charizard slowly circled above them, flying further down with each rotation another one of Ash's Pokémon was waiting right at the gate, dancing on top of the wooden fence as it saw its trainer.

"_Totodile_?"

As if in reply, the small water Pokémon increased the intensity of its dance.

"_Toto, toto toto totodile!"_

Walking over to his Pokémon Ash reached it just in time, as the moment Charizard landed the powerful gust that came from its wings was enough to off-put its balance, causing Totodile to fall in its excitement and slip right into Ash's arms.

"What's got you so excited?"

"_Totodile!_"

Totodile continued to wave its arms and legs around as it laid in Ash's arms.

"Uhh, Misty? You're the water expert here, care to offer your opinion?" Holding totodile outstretched in his hands Ash presented it to Misty. Even though he knew his Pokémon better than anyone, he never saw his Totodile _this_ excited.

"Hmm…" Hands on her hips, Misty leaned forward to inspect the Pokémon who finally halted its excited dance as she got close.

"Toto…" Then, with a surprising burst of energy it jumped straight out of Ash's hands, right over Misty's shoulder to bite onto her hair with its powerful jaw.

"Oh, your hair. That'll do it."

Clamped onto Misty's hair as tight as it could, a look of absolute joy spread across its face while Misty ran around in a circle, desperate to unlatch it.

"_Ash!_ Control your Pokémon and get it off of me!"

"Nope, no can do. Once Totodile is latched like that he won't listen to me."

"_Totodile!_" Speaking through a mouthful of hair in agreement, there was nothing Misty could do.

"I mean, you _could_ just cut your hair off." Offering a half-hearted sympathetic shrug Ash was moments away from bursting out in laughter.

"Ash, get it off before I get Gyarados to do the same to you!"

"Totodile, down."

As tempting as it was to watch Misty helplessly try to protect her hair, it wasn't even remotely worth it when faced with the rage of any Gyarados, let alone one trained by Misty. The second he snapped his fingers Totodile unlatched, dropping to the floor with a smug grin.

"_Toto!"_

Pulling her hair together and around to the front of her face, Misty inspected for any signs of damage before shooting Ash a particularly evil glare.

"I thought you couldn't control Totodile when he was like that, Ash…?" Leaning in close to try and intimidate Ash, he simply laughed.

"A Pokémon Master that can't control their Pokémon? Come on Misty, give me a _little_ credit." Now that Charizard had landed, it stood up behind Ash as Pikachu hopped off of its back and onto Ash's shoulder, all the while Totodile danced circles around the feet of its trainer.

"You're _dead_, Ketchum."

Taking Misty's threat with a grain of salt, it suddenly dawned on Ash that it probably wasn't the best idea that he had heard that exact phrase multiple times over the past few days. As he stood smiling at his old friend Misty continued to inspect her hair, muttering to herself under her breath.

"Your hair is fine Misty, you look as pretty as ever."

Just as the words left his mouth, it was as if time stopped. All of a sudden every living being around him was frozen solid, staring at him with jaws open. Even Totodile was looking up at its trainer with a shocked look.

"Uhh… You guys still with me?" Looking from Misty to all his Pokémon, Ash waved his opened hand in front of the dazed face of Pikachu.

"Did… did you just call me _pretty?_" Staring at Ash with the expression of someone who just saw something absolutely outlandish she took half a step back, looking Ash up and down.

"…Yeah? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Ash Ketchum… Called a _girl_ pretty."

"I'm pretty sure I just did. What the hell has gotten into you all?"

"Are you feeling okay?"

"What? Yeah, of course I am! Is it really that strange of me to say something like that?" Looking to his Pokémon for backup, he unfortunately found none as they all continued their expressions of shock. Charizard even extended a finger, poking Ash in the cheek as if to check if Ash was even real.

"Are you _sure?_"

"What? Yeah, of course I am! If it's that weird then I take it back…"

"Wha-, hey! You can't take it back!"

"Of course I can! You guys are all creeping me out."

"No way, you can't say something like that and take it back! That's an awful thing to do."

"Why not? I didn't mean anything by it,"

"That's even worse!"

"What on Earth are you two going on about so loudly?" With perfect timing as usual, Brock walked up on the other side of the gate, leaning on it while observing the two argue in a familiar fashion.

"Nothing! Misty is just getting all weird over something I said."

Looking over at Misty, Brock gave a short sigh.

"Come on Misty, leave Ash alone. He's got a lot of work to do starting today so cut him some slack."

"How do you expect me to do that? He just called me pretty!"

Then, in a fashion identical to everyone else Brock adopted the same shocked look on his face.

"Wait, really? _You_ called a girl pretty?"

"Why is that such a hard thing to believe?!"

"Well yeah, I mean… This is _you_ we're talking about here."

Giving Brock and Misty the same look of bewilderment they graced him with moments ago, the trainer then simply decided to ignore the two.

"Alright, whatever! I'm going to start my training." Hopping over the fence with Pikachu still on his shoulder Ash began to jog up the hill, heading towards the fields out the back to greet all of his Pokémon. Shortly after he started moving both Totodile and Charizard followed, the latter slowly flying overhead while the water Pokémon pumped its legs as fast as it could to try and catch up.

The moment he was out of earshot, Brock spoke.

"I don't think that grin on your face could get any wider right now Misty."

Covering her mouth with her hands out of embarrassment, she couldn't help but still have a small smile creep its way across her face.

"I'm just glad he's willing to talk to me, let alone say something like that."

"Why wouldn't he? You're one of his closest friends."

Looking over at Brock, Misty couldn't help but give him a slightly sorrowful look as she recalled the events of the night years ago.

"I don't know Brock… I hurt him really badly back then."

"And now you're both acting as if it never happened." Placing his hand on her shoulder, Brock gave Misty a warm, reassuring smile, much like a real older brother would. "You're both fine, you don't need to worry and punish yourself so much over something that happened in the past."

Misty watched as Ash's silhouette disappeared behind the lab, placing her hand on top of Brocks.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks, Brock."

* * *

Shaking his head, Ash slowed to a jog as he reached the back of the lab, looking out over the fields to see all of his Pokémon. Raising both hands above his head and cracking his knuckles in a stretch, the young man looked around. As far as he could tell, nothing was different from the other day. There was no special field set up for training, no extra people hanging around, nothing.

Just as he was about to go looking for someone he felt someone, or something poking at his leg.

"_Saur?_"

"Oh, hey Ivysaur. You know where everyone is?"

Raising its whips in a manner similar to a shrug, Ivysaur got in line with Ash as he started walking around the grassy fields, heading towards the entrance to the lab. If anyone was here, that's where he'd find them.

As they walked Ash's mind drifted off to the tournament once again. If anyone was trying to keep track of the amount time he spent daydreaming about this, keeping up would be a more than impressive effort as it was the only thing that occupied his mind when he wasn't trying to deal with the new residents in his household.

Ever since becoming the Pokémon Master of Kanto, there wasn't anyone left to properly challenge Ash. Sure, some people who managed to defeat the Elite Four came looking for him and provided good exercise, but none managed to make him sweat. Every time he battled someone for the title of Kanto's Champion Ash still had at least a couple Pokeballs on his belt that hadn't seen the light of day by the end of the battle.

Not only that, but he could count the amount of challenges he had received on one hand. It makes sense, beating the Elite Four is no easy task, but still. Having no one to push him to his limit left him feeling almost unfulfilled. Nothing gave him more joy than overcoming an obstacle and reaching his goal. Conquering the Orange League, beating the Battle Frontier and being offered a chance at being a Frontier Brain, even finally beating Paul at the Lily of the Valley Conference.

All of those events stood out to him as highlights, and he knew that he needed something like that to keep him going. That's why he was so excited when he heard of the new tournament; a real challenge had found him. At least, he hoped it would be a challenge.

"Watcha thinkin' about, Ashy boy?"

Shaking his head slightly to snap himself out of a daydreaming daze, Ash looked over his shoulder at Gary. Twisting on a heel he turned to the professor, pounding on his chest.

"Training, what else?"

Gary couldn't help but laugh a bit, as it was the exact response he had expected.

"Good, didn't want to catch you out here daydreaming about May, but it seems like your mind is where it needs to be." His grin turning into a bit of a smirk as he spoke, Gary, like the others never missed a chance to tease Ash.

Although his response was a bit different than expected. Throwing his head back with a loud groan, Ash complained.  
"Oh god, you heard about that already? It happened like, an hour ago!"

"…Heard about what?"

"Oh. Nothing."

Although his curiosity was more than piqued, Gary let it slide for now. He had something slightly more important on his mind.

"Anyway Ash, I need to ask you. Do you know what 6 Pokémon you're going to be taking into the tournament yet?"

Looking out past Gary's shoulder to the fields behind him, Ash couldn't do anything but offer a shrug after a few moments. Besides his Charizard poking its chest out as if to get Ash's attention, for a moment there was complete silence.

"Nope."

Slightly annoyed, Gary couldn't blame Ash. He had expected such an answer.

"It's a lot harder than I thought. I've been thinking about it ever since I found out, but I just can't pick a team that I can use for any sort of situation."

"Yeah, I don't blame you. I tried doing it as well, just for a what-if type of deal. I figured it would be easy if I thought about it logically… but it wasn't."

"Have you thought about actually entering, Gary?" It wasn't the first time Ash had pictured Gary in the tournament alongside him. He knew that the thought would have appealed to the professor, at least slightly, and he also knew that he was still a great trainer.

It had been a while since Gary had battled competitively, but his Pokémon were still in top shape. If he had to bet his money on a battle between the Professor and the Elite Four, Ash would wager heavily on his friend after a month or so of training.

"Nope. Well, I have thought about it, but there's no way I'll enter."

"Why not?"

"Well, I'm a professor now. I don't battle. And even if I did, it's been way too long for me. I'm rusty, my reflexes aren't as good as they used to be. I'd just end up letting down my Pokémon if I entered."

While Ash wanted to argue they both knew that the points Gary made were entirely valid. It would just be rude to argue that they weren't.

"Besides, I wasn't lucky enough to get invited like you, and _that_ means I'd have to go through the preliminary rounds. Way too much effort, if you ask me."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about those. The brackets are massive, how come there are so many rounds?"

"Well, a lot of people want to enter. They're starting a good month before the proper tournament starts, I'm pretty sure."

The only thing Ash could think of would be how exhausting that would be. A month of constant battling, only to enter the real deal later on would but an immense strain on a trainer and their Pokémon especially since you couldn't swap any out.

"That sounds almost cruel to the Pokémon."

"If you had to do it, your Pokémon would burn you for even suggesting that they wouldn't be up to it."

Agreeing with the professor, all of Ash's Pokémon cried out their names in unison. Smiling at the sight of his friends, Ash scratched Pikachu behind the ear as the small electric Pokémon rested comfortably on his shoulder.

"_Chaa…_"

"Well either way, I don't have a team yet. I _do_ have two Pokémon, but as for the other four… nothing."

That got Gary interested. He had an idea, but he wanted to hear Ash say the two he planned on using.

"Pikachu and Charizard. Pikachu has been my partner since the very beginning and Charizard has pulled me through a tough fight more times than I can count. There's no way I'd even think about not having them both with me when I go in."

Both Pikachu and Charizard seemed to nod in agreement and even Ivysaur and Totodile joined in unison. Although the latter two were always eager to battle with Ash they had grown to enjoy their lifestyle at the Laboratory and knew that they weren't as well trained as some of the other Pokémon there. They both wanted Ash to succeed no matter what Pokémon were chosen and they both agreed that Charizard and Pikachu were two of the best to help with that goal.

"That's what I figured." An almost pained expression on his face, Gary started to force out some very bitter words. "Listen Ash. I don't want to say this as much as you don't want to hear it but I don't think that's a good idea."

His proud smile turning into a confused, if not defensive look Ash took a step closer to his Pokémon with Pikachu still on his shoulder, as if presenting a united front against Gary. "What do you mean, Gary?"

"Charizard I agree with. It's easily one of your strongest Pokémon, hell it's even taken down legendary Pokémon comfortably. But Pikachu…" Looking at Pikachu, Gary offered a sad shrug as he continued.

"I know Pikachu is strong and I've never seen another one come even remotely close, but the people you're going up against are going to have Pokémon which are just naturally incredibly strong. They'll all be fully evolved and amazingly well trained, there's just no way a Pikachu could go toe-to-toe with them in power. Even your Pikachu."

For the last few days Gary had been thinking about the team Ash should use and no matter how he looked at it there was just no way he could see Pikachu making the cut. He liked Pikachu and he knew as much as anyone how close the two were. However, any time he imagined it going up against a fully evolved powerhouse of a Pokémon such as a Dragonite, Metagross or even a Garchomp or Tyranitar he just couldn't see Pikachu coming out on top under any circumstances. He knew for a fact that Ash would be seeing those Pokémon in the tournament as well, as he'd already been looking into the Pokémon some of the already confirmed competitors have.

"Pika, Pikachu!" While Ash stood there in thought Pikachu called out to argue against Gary while Charizard took a step forward with a deep rumble in its chest, defending its friend.

After looking towards Ash for a response, after a few moments the Pokémon master finally replied.

"So, you're worried that Pikachu won't be able to match up against a fully evolved Pokémon in sheer power?"

"Basically, yes."

"Then, something like your Electivire would be a good example?"

"I… yeah, it would be."

Talking a few steps back from Gary so that there was a respectable distance between the two young men Ash motioned for Pikachu to hop off his shoulder, and his partner knew exactly what he was thinking. Hopping down onto all fours in a relaxed, yet alert stance the electric Pokémon seemed ready for anything.

"_Pika!"_

"Send out your Electivire, Gary."

"What are you getting at, Ash?"

While his expression was hard a moment ago Ash's face now had his usual cocky grin spread across his features, looking out across the field in front of him.

"You're worried that Pikachu doesn't have enough sheer power, right? Send out your Electivire. If we can't win in a battle within twenty seconds, I'll agree with you."

His hand grabbing Electivire's Pokéball, Gary couldn't help but hesitate. The last time Electivire and Pikachu fought Gary won the battle with ease. No matter the approach Pikachu took Electivire was stronger in both offense and defence.

Now he was sure that Pikachu had gotten stronger, but twenty seconds? No matter what sort of scenario passed through his mind there just didn't seem to be a way for Pikachu to win that quickly. Yet, he still hesitated. Ash seemed so incredibly confident that it was off-putting.

"Alright, have it your way Ash. Electivire, go!"

Throwing his Pokéball out Gary's Electivire shot out with a dazzling display of light from the ball, emerging on the field with its arms raised.

"_Electivire!"_

The powerful Electric Pokémon ready it looked across at Pikachu, obviously excited itself to have another match with the smaller opponent. While Electivire always won, it still enjoyed their battles as Pikachu still managed to provide a challenge.

"You've got the first move Gary." Standing up entirely straight with his arms at his side, Ash and Pikachu simply waited.

On the other side of the field Gary had his legs spaced out, bracing himself as if he was about to take a hit. The two were in complete contrast to each other and it seemed that their positions were reversed from the last time the two Electric Pokémon clashed.

Gary was a scientist though, and knew more than most about battling. If he approached his logically there was no way he could lose and while beating Ash's bet would bring him no joy he knew it was for the best to give the Champion the highest chance to win at the upcoming tournament.

"Electivire, use Thunderbolt to keep Pikachu in place!" A simple stalling tactic, but one that should work. With two powerful bolts of electricity arcing forth from the antennae on its head Electivire shot a powerful attack directly at the waiting mouse Pokémon.

"_Vire!"_

"Tail up, Pikachu."

While Gary expected Pikachu to fire back and try to overpower Electivire it did the opposite. With all four paws on the ground Pikachu raised its tail up in the air and shot a current directly through it, using it as a sort of lightning rod. As a result, Electivire's attack collided with Pikachu's tail, lighting its entire body up entirely with electricity.

Pikachu didn't seem phased in the slightest.

"What…" While initially surprised, Gary figured out what Ash was up to within an instant. "Electivire, stop! Use Protect!"

"Volt tackle!"

As Electivire raised a protective screen around its body Pikachu dug its paws in briefly before shooting out like a rocket.

With incredible amounts of electricity shooting out from its cheeks Pikachu closed the gap of the field within an instant, the arcs of lightning coming from its body shooting across the ground and breaking up rock and dirt alike along their paths while Pikachu was covered entirely in both its own electricity and that of Electivire that it had just absorbed. Moving so fast that it seemed like a blur, it threw its body directly at the barrier raised by Protect, moving with the speed and force of a lightning bolt before a thunderous boom echoed across the fields of the Oak Laboratory and made the ground beneath the trainer and professor tremble as the two Pokémon collided.

Dust and smoke kicked up as a result, obscuring any vision of the aftermath of the attack as the entire field was made almost impossible to see through. As such Gary struggled to determine the current state of his Pokémon.

"Electivire, are you okay!?" Waiting for the dust and smoke to settle, it wasn't long before the result of their battle was made painfully obvious.

On both knees with all of its energy drained from keeping up Protect Electivire was unscathed thanks to Gary's quick thinking, yet absolutely exhausted. There was no way it could continue to put up a fight.

"How…" Looking at one of his most powerful Pokémon in awe, Gary was only snapped out of his stunned state as Ash spoke. Having walked up to Electivire the Pokémon Master was patting the Pokémon that was moments ago his opponent on the head, feeding it one of the PokeBlocks he carried around for Pikachu.

"That protect was awesome, you did incredibly well Electivire." His voice carrying nothing but pure honesty Ash made sure quickly that Electivire took no serious damage before walking over to Gary with Pikachu on his shoulder who seemed entirely fine, if not the slightest bit out of breath.

While Electivire happily ate the snack, seemingly happy with itself despite its loss as it knew just how powerful that attack was and had no shame in admitting that Pikachu was now the stronger of the two, Gary was still coming to terms with it.

"…I don't understand. I mean I understand that you used the energy from Electivire's thunderbolt to charge Pikachu up but it wasn't connected for long enough to have it give away _that_ much power."

"I get the point you were trying to make Gary, and thanks for saying it. I could tell that it wasn't something you really wanted to say." Now giving Pikachu one of its own Pokéblocks, Ash looked Gary dead in the eye, his gaze resolute. "Just believe me when I say Pikachu is strong, and there isn't a single Pokémon in this tournament that we won't be able to tackle head on."

With a deep sigh Gary shook his head, wearing a small smile despite his utter defeat. "I don't know how you do it Ketchum, but we made a bet… I believe you and I'll gladly work with you and Pikachu." Even though everything in his head told him that a Pikachu simply can't be that strong Gary just saw proof demonstrating otherwise with his own eyes. Patting Pikachu as if to say sorry, Gary then took out his Pokéball once more.

"Return Electivire, you did a great job. Thank you." A thin red beam shooting out from his ball the happy Electivire returned to its spot on Gary's belt. "I know a Pokémon Master rarely reveals his tricks, but you're going to need to show me how you managed that."

The two good friends grinning at each other, they were interrupted just as they took the first steps back to the laboratory.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Unknown to both Ash and Gary as they battled Brock and Misty had been watching from afar, and were quickly joined by May who scrambled out the house as she couldn't look Delia in the eye without becoming extremely embarrassed. Not that she wouldn't have that problem with Ash, but at least she could throw things at Ash to make herself feel better.

Watching the short but explosive battle just moments ago, the Coordinator couldn't help but call out.

"Pikachu, you're amazing!" Looking over to the trio Ash briefly made contact with May, before averting his gaze. Instead he found himself looking at Misty, and although he felt the heat coming to his face he couldn't stop himself from staring for at least a moment.

Both the two young women were dressed differently, with Misty wearing denim shorts with a singlet while May had a mostly plain, white summer dress on. Although it wasn't anything fancy they both still had the capacity to leave any man breathless.

"_Pika pi!"_ Jumping up onto May's shoulder Pikachu eagerly received praise with small jolts of electricity flying from the sacs on its cheeks, doing nothing but tickling May as she nuzzled up against him.

"It's not every day you see a Pikachu take down a fully grown Electivire. That was pretty impressive, Ash." Walking up to Ash and placing his hand on his shoulder, Brock offered his congratulations to him before turning to Gary. "It's obvious that Electivire has gotten stronger as well Gary. You should give yourself more credit as a trainer."

"Oh yeah? You can tell that by how badly we got our asses beat, huh?" Speaking with a wide grin across his face Gary walked over to the rest of them, patting dirt off of his lab-coat after he was covered in the remnants of a dust-cloud from the battle.

"Well I can tell by the way that Electivire was still conscious after being hit by the equivalent of a freight train."

"I guess that's one way to describe it. I'm still just having trouble imagining a Pikachu put out that much raw power. It's the sort of thing I would expect from a fully evolved _and_ trained Pokemon performing at their best, and even then it would still be pushing it."

"Yeah, well if you travel with Ash for long enough you'll get used to it." Speaking up, Misty started to walk back up to the lab motioning for the rest to follow. "Hey, let's all head back inside. It's getting way to hot out here and we should probably start organising stuff."

With a unanimous nod from everyone the small group all started walking up the grassy hill to the large building sitting atop of Pallet Town. However to Ash's surprise, he felt someone grab his hand and pull him to the back of the group as the rest continued on. Turning to see who it was he found himself face-to-face with Brock, who had a worryingly mischievous expression on his face.

Pulling them both a bit further away from the others, Brock got up close so that he was whispering into his friend's ear.

"So Ash, you think you'll be able to focus today?"

"Uhh… yeah. What do you mean, Brock?"

"Well, you know…" Motioning with his head, Brock looked over Ash's shoulder to May, watching her walk with Pikachu on her shoulder alongside Gary and Misty. "I'd understand if it was a bit hard to concentrate with your _lover_ around."

The expression on Ash's face went from one of cautious curiosity to an extremely unimpressed, deadpan look in under a second.

"OH COME ON, HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?" Practically yelling, everyone turned around to look at Ash waving his arms around in protest and Brock barely able to stand, holding onto his stomach while laughing loud enough to combat Ash's outburst.

"It happened like an hour, who the hell told you!?" As Brock was in no position to answer Ash looked behind him, finding the answer instantly as Misty was barely managing to keep a straight face with one hand covering her mouth.

"Misty, you're dead! I told you nothing happened!" While Ash was trying to drown out the rumour by simply being loud, May quickly caught on with her face progressively turning a deeper shade of red.

Although as Misty and Brock struggled to stop laughing along with Totodile, who had just caught up and was now doing a mixture of a dance and a laugh around Ash's feet while Ash did his best to scream out his innocence, Gary raised a hand in the middle, obviously lost.

"Yeah, can someone explain what's going on? You're all acting like idiots."

Wiping a tear from her eye Misty leaned closer, keeping eye contact with Ash as she gave Gary enough fuel to tease the Pokemon Master for weeks to come.

"Oh nothing important. Ash and May just got walked in on this morning when they were both pretty much naked, and poor Ash got kicked out of his own room without any clothes."

By this point May had her head down, trying her best to become invisible while Ash struggled to get any more words out. However while he couldn't think of what to say, Gary had a million different things come to mind.

Instead of teasing Ash though Gary turned to May, one eyebrow raised as it was now his turn to try and suppress laughter. Nudging May with his elbow the professor couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her.

"So May… You and Ash, eh?"

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up shut up!" Covering her ears with her hands May broke out into a run back to the lab, sprinting up the hill away from the others until she had reached the summit. Only then did she turn back around to point an accusing finger. "You're dead Ketchum! One hundred percent dead!"

"I didn't even do anything!"

* * *

A few minutes later the 5 of them were lounging around inside, sprawled across couches and the floor with Ash and May on the very opposite sides of the room. Taking the opportunity, Misty had sat right next to Ash while Gary had taken an entire longue to himself, with Brock on a chair and May sitting cross-legged on the floor. Ditto had already come in as Mr. Mime and served the group refreshments, and had now mimicked Pikachu, with two electric mice chasing each other around the room.

"So, what exactly are we going to do no-"Just as he spoke at a reasonable volume for the first time since they got inside, Ash was cut off by a pillow thrown directly at his face. Letting the cushion fall to his lap the Pokémon Master offered May an unimpressed look. "Thanks for that, May."

Turning her head with a brief 'Humph' in reply, May braced herself for a rebuttal as Ash went to pick up the pillow. However, instead of being able to throw it back Ash was surprised to see that Misty had laid down on her back across the couch, placing her head on the pillow which was resting right across his lap.

"Uhh… You alright there, Misty?"

"Yup! Won't pass up a free pillow. If you move around too much I'll hit you."

Obviously surprised, Ash just sunk back into his seat doing his best not to fidget in the slightest, looking down at Misty as she had her head resting comfortably above his thighs. Resisting the temptation to start bouncing his legs up and down, Ash finished off his sentence from before.

"Anyway, so what's the plan?"

Looking to the rest of them for an answer, Brock took the opportunity to lean forward placing a thick folder on the table in the middle of the room. Patting it softly, the breeder puffed his chest out in an overly proud manner.

"Well since I knew that none of you would be interested in setting up a proper schedule, I went through and set out everything that we're going to need to address over the next month, to start us off. Everything from food, to training to team selection."

Being met by glances of approval, Brock took that as the green light to go forward. Sitting up straight he opened the folder, revealing an incredibly neat display of photos, tables and text sprawled across ever page he flicked through. In the folder Ash could already see outlines of his Pokémon, what food they should eat and what sort of training they should be focusing on. Strong points, weak points, everything. Just as his interest was caught though, a knock on the wall outside of the room interrupted Brock's introduction to the schedule.

Poking his head through the door, Professor Oak walked in with a cell-phone in hand.

"Sorry to interrupt everyone! Ash, you've got a phone call." Passing the phone over with an inquisitive glance to Misty's current resting position, Ash simply shrugged before taking the phone and putting it to his ear.

"Sorry Brock, one second… Hello?" Listening for a quick moment, a smile crossed Ash's face almost immediately, leading to him placing the phone on speaker. "Hey Lance, what's up?"

_"Sorry to interrupt Ash, are you busy?"_ Coming out from the phone the powerful voice of the dragon-type trainer filled the room. Currently a member of the Elite Four of Kanto, Lance was the representative for the Indigo League, and the obstacle facing anyone who would want to challenge Ash for the title of Pokemon Master of Kanto. As such, the two talked routinely and were on good terms with each other.

"Nope, I'm just with everyone else talking about the upcoming tournament."

_"Oh, so you're with all of your trainers then? Good." _In response, the rest of the group called out a friendly greeting.

_"Hey, everyone."_ While Lance normally sounded confident and strong, his voice came through the phone as slightly weak. It took only a second for Ash to pick up on it.

"Hey Lance, are you okay? You don't sound all too great."

_"…Ash I'll get straight to it, you have a new challenger."_

For a moment the room went quiet. It had been a while since anyone made it past the Elite Four to challenge Ash, and already he could feel the blood pumping through his veins. Everyone had sat up straight now, including Misty, all of them giving Lance their full attention.

"Hey, are you serious? Someone made it past you, Bruno, Lorelei and Agatha?"

_"Unfortunately, yes. He has requested to battle you as soon as possible."_

As Ash was still currently lost, Brock spoke up.

"Well, what's a better way to practise than by having some official league battles, hey Ash?"

"That's a good point, it has been a little while since you participated in any proper 6-on-6 battles. This could be a great warm-up for you." Speaking up in agreement, Gary was already thinking of different ways that Ash could use this battle to his advantage. "If you get your team sorted out, it will be a great opportunity to make sure you've got all your bases covered. Any trainer that gets to this point is pretty much guaranteed to have a well-rounded team."

"Yeah, you're both right." His mind briefly wandering over ideas for a team, Ash realised that he had yet to ask the most important question. "Hey Lance, what Pokémon does this guy use?"

_"I… I can't say for sure, Ash. I'm sorry."_

"What do you mean, did you hit your head and forget or something?"

_"Truth be told, we just don't know his entire team. This isn't just a warm-up for you Ash, in a 6-on-6 I was only able to draw out two of his Pokémon. The other four, I didn't even see."_

While before the room was filled with an air of excitement, now everyone was dead silent out of shock.

"Wait, you only took out one of his Pokémon?" Speaking with a look of disbelief on his face, Ash was visibly concerned about a challenge for the first time.

_"No, he just switched them out. I'm sure he could have come close to sweeping me, if he wanted to."_

"What were the two Pokémon he used, Lance?" Calling out for the first time May asked the question that everyone was thinking, yet no one had asked yet. While the whole group was itching to know what the two Pokémon were, there was a small sense of fear among them all. Lance wasn't an amateur, taking out a team of extremely well raised Dragon-type Pokémon would require exceptionally strong Pokémon.

_"Well… He used an Espeon first, and later swapped out for a Charizard."_

"A Charizard? Wait… Lance, is this who I think it is?" Speaking out with a deadly serious tone that sent shivers down Ash's spine, Brock seemed seriously worried. Everyone was now huddled around the phone, inches away from it as they awaited Lance's answer.

_"I'm afraid so Brock. Kanto's old Pokémon Master has returned from Mt. Silver… And he wants his title back."_

* * *

Sorry for the ridiculously long wait everyone! Real life came along and kicked my ass for a good semester or so. Getting back into writing now, so hopefully some of you are still interested in this story.

And to answer some of the questions I've been getting; I don't know how this will end. I have a lot of different endings planned out, but I can't say for certain if it will end up with Misty or May at Ash's side at the end. However I have no intent of turning either of them into an antagonist as it progresses.

Anyway, I hope you like the new chapter! As always thanks for reading :)


	6. Chapter 6

A thundering boom echoed throughout not only the battlefield but the entire arena, a wave of dust following just after assaulting both trainers before continuing even further up to cover the stands in a thin veil of dirt. Anyone sitting in any of the seats surrounding the battlefield would've quickly fell into a fit of coughing, however the challenge was so sudden and unexpected that there was no time to advertise. The match couldn't even secure a spot on T.V, and the many cameras surrounding the Pokémon Battle served only to have an official record on demand to be stored away.

"How is that even possible…? Salamence, you did incredibly. Return_!"_ With a thin red beam piercing through the dust Lance recalled his fifth Pokémon as he looked directly past it to the mountain he somehow had to overcome. A Charizard with its wings spread, shooting a torrent of flame in the air to declare yet another victory. A few moments ago Lance had ordered his Salamence to fire a Hyper Beam directly at the dragon-like fire type. After battling for so long and having to fight two other of his own Pokémon there just seemed to be no way that the Charizard opposing him could win yet another pure contest of strength. This wasn't the first time he was challenged by this trainer in particular either, so Lance was sure he had a decent enough grasp of what to expect from his opponents Pokémon.

Unfortunately he was wrong. After one second the two attacks met, after another Salamence's hyper beam was overcome, and after the last second Lance felt the vibrations run through the Earth as his Pokémon fell to the ground utterly exhausted. Now having only seen two of his opponents Pokémon and with five of his own out of commission the final trainer of the Elite Four grasped his last Pokeball in his hand.

Looking to the young man who commanded the remarkable Charizard Lance could only see him nod ever so slightly. He had this entire battle figured out from the start and was now watching it play out step-by-step. The air of confidence surrounding him was so strong it was if he was watching a replay of the match and had his victory already confirmed through his own eyes.

"Well it's up to you now old friend, I know you'll do your absolute best. Against this, that's all I can ask."

Knowing that he had already lost, Lance set one clear goal in his mind. He was going to take down that Charizard no matter what it took. With one foot forward he threw his Pokeball with all his might, already knowing exactly what he had to do in order to win.

"Dragonite, go! Aerial Ace!"

Giving his opponent no time to react Dragonite emerged from its ball with a deafening roar, claiming that battlefield as its own before charging forward at an incredible speed. With the challenging trainer offering no command Lance had hoped for a brief moment that he had caught him by surprise and may just be able to gain the upper hand.

Again, Lance was wrong.

Flying low to the ground Dragonite closed the distance between the two powerful Pokémon with one flap of its wings and clashed against Charizard with huge amounts of force, with the Fire type catching onto Dragonite's shoulders with extended arms. With that much momentum the two slid across half of the battlefield, only coming to a stop at a distance where the challenging trainer could reach out and touch the Pokémon he was using to sweep the Elite Four with an extended finger.

Both Pokémon competing in a contest of pure strength they both looked at each other still trying to push the other back as they gained an appreciation for each other's strength. If there were more time a long sparring battle would have brought both of them immense joy and experience, but the former Pokemon Master of Kanto felt that he had been away from his title for long enough. As far as he was concerned the only battle he cared for was the one against the current Champion of the Indigo League and he didn't want there to be a single second wasted as he fought his way to that goal.

"Charizard, flamethrower!"

Opening its jaws Charizard quickly set out a torrent of flame towards Dragonite at such a close range, a direct hit onto the resistant Dragon type.

"Dragonite, keep it there and use thunder wave!"

In reply Dragonite sent electricity up through both of its antennae, collecting energy for a moment before shooting out directly at Charizard. Even though it was being assaulted by flames it seemed almost unaffected by the attack, due to both its own strength and type resistance. No competent trainer would let their Pokémon be paralysed so easily though.

"Push it into the ground and fly up, don't let it hit you!"

Its arms still on Dragonite's shoulders Charizard pushed it directly down while flapping its huge wings with enough force to both drive the Dragon type down even more and shoot itself up in the air at a remarkable speed. As a result with flames still coming from its mouth Charizard started flying directly up while Dragonite was left in the dust being burned from behind by the continual flamethrower. Of course that was how Charizard's trainer wanted everything to go, but in his confidence he underestimated Lance ever so slightly.

Charizard flew up and came out on top from the exchange, but not before having the very bottom its legs blasted by an incredibly powerful thunder wave. Realising that it was about to be forced into the ground Dragonite let go of its attack a split second early, giving it just enough time to connect. However, only striking the lower half of Charizard it still had the complete use of its arms and wings ensuring that it had no trouble flying around. With two immobile feet though Lance had successfully turned this into an aerial battle.

Cursing himself under his breath the challenger looked directly at Dragonite. He had fought this Pokémon before and underestimating it like that was sheer arrogance. He knew how powerful his own partners were and knew exactly what he could expect of them, his only fault was occasionally not giving his opponents enough credit.

Normally after being paralysed and still having 5 able Pokémon you would expect a substitution to occur. Of course this was a special exception. Lance was betting on the former Indigo Plateau Champion being eager to demonstrate just how powerful he had become, and sticking with Charizard after already exerting itself so much would be a perfect opportunity to do this.

"Well, looks like we'll be fighting from the air now. Might as well finish everything up." Looking at his Charizard he gave his friend one quick nod, signalling the end of the battle. "Go, Dragon Breath!"

With a roar forceful enough to knock someone off of their feet, Charizard extended its wings fully and unleashed an incredible outburst of beautiful purple flames straight down at Dragonite. Not only would this attack be much more effective than its previous flamethrower Charizard was putting as much energy into it as possible. The result was a colossal flame that threatened to cover the all of the ground between both trainers if left unopposed.

"No chance I'm letting you take us down that easy. Dragonite! Draco Meteor, now!" In response Lance countered with Dragonite's most powerful attack. Normally an ability used to cover the field in small meteors, shooting it directly up would put Charizard at risk of receiving the full brunt of the attack head on.

Its feet making cracks in the ground from the sheer force of the attack Dragonite shot the meteor directly up watching it rocket straight through the purple flames and towards Charizard. Somehow it seemed unaffected by Dragon Breath, and the meteor both passed through it without slowing down while also providing the added benefit of diverting any of the flames away from Dragonite.

If it connected with Charizard it would certainly knock it out of the sky, and with paralysed feet it would become an easy target for a follow up attack. That is, if it could even muster the strength to keep fighting after taking such a strong hit.

"Charizard quick, smash through it with Dragon Tail!"

Even though he had hoped for the one move to finish it Lance was expecting this. In his mind there was no way that his attack wouldn't be met by another, so he planned to have Dragonite on the other side of that meteor the very instant it shattered.

"Right now, Dragon Rush!" With an almost desperate scream Lance gave his final order to Dragonite, the one that would end the battle.

The resulting display was one that could easily be described as beautiful, and not having it broadcast across the entire region was a massive disservice to anyone with the slightest interest in Pokémon Battling. Its tail glowing a hot white, Charizard smashed through the meteor just before it connected, resulting in a myriad of comets falling back to the Earth. Then the moment there was a clear line of vision through the rubble Dragonite rushed through it, knocking all the debris away to charge straight into the seemingly undefeatable flame Pokémon.

It was just in time though, that the challenger gave his Pokémon one last command.

"Blast Burn!"

Moments before Dragonite could hit it Charizard prepared itself, the flame on its tail expanding rapidly until it had engulfed everything from the tip of its tail to the horns on its head. Then, giving the fire a purpose it launched itself right at Dragonite.

With two rockets colliding, one bathed in a red hot flame and the other protected by a light blue orb the resulting crash caused an explosion propelling them both back to their respective sides of the field, digging their claws into the dirt to try and get some sort of control over their movement as the two trainers crouched down and shielded their faces in an attempt to not get knocked over themselves.

Waiting for the aftermath of the battle to settle so that Lance could open his eyes and stand all he could feel or hear was the beating of his own heart in his chest and his ears. Finally standing up when he no longer felt the harsh wind battering against his outstretched limbs, he looked out to see the result of the battlefield.

Both Pokémon were on their knees and there seemed to be only one difference separating them. Its entire body shaking Dragonite had been keeping itself upright for as long as it physically could, waiting for Charizard to fall before it did. Unfortunately that moment didn't come, and as sheer will could only do much it ultimately fell to the floor.

On the other side of the field Charizard was struggling to recover every breath it desperately needed, the flame on its tail rising and falling every time it inhaled. On both knees with one arm outstretched to keep its belly off the floor it was obviously past the point of being tired and fatigued, yet it wasn't out. It still had the strength to look straight ahead, and as such it was the victor.

* * *

The last thing Ash saw on the screen was Lance recalling his Pokémon. Having accessed the official records of the Indigo League he had intently watched the entire battle between Lance and Red, not a single word coming from his mouth as his eyes never left the computer screen inches away from his face. Three other people were watching the screen as well, Pikachu who was resting on Ash's shoulder as well as Gary and Brock who both looked over either of the Pokémon Master's shoulders.

Turning away from the screen Ash simply stared ahead, eyes focused on nothing as he tried to process what he saw. When he battled Lance he got a true understanding of how powerful the Dragon type trainer was. Of course Ash himself came out on top, but only after losing 4 of his own Pokémon, and of the two he had remaining one only had seconds left before it fell.

Accomplishing that made him the strongest trainer in all of Kanto and the one which other trainers would look up to and aspire to be. Now he had just seen someone come through and demolish that almost impossible task with ease. Of course Ash had gotten stronger since as well, and could now defeat Lance comfortably with only two or so Pokémon on average fainting which is what allowed him to take on most challengers without much effort, but this was on an entirely different level.

"I don't get it. There's no way."

After a good few minutes Ash finally broke the silence that was hanging over the room. While he, Gary and Brock all sat around the computer Misty and May were sitting on couches on the other side of the room. Even if they didn't get a great view of the match they saw and heard more than enough to understand what happened.

"Well. It seems like that's what a few years of training on Mt. Silver can do to you. If you manage to survive it sure looks like the results are worth it." Thinking out loud, Gary had his mind racing as to what other Pokémon Red had at his disposal. Already he was looking up the battle where the originally became Pokémon Master of Kanto on a tablet in his lap.

"Did he actually go to Mt. Silver? I've heard rumours about that place, even my dad brought it up before. Everyone says that it's impossible to get to." Speaking up, May looked around to the others for answers. While a great trainer in her own regard she had certainly never seen anything of this level and wasn't as familiar with the Kanto region as the others.

"It is, the entire region is blocked off. It's all uncharted and is only inhabited by very powerful and very wild Pokémon. Going up there for more than a day is pretty much suicide, and who knows how long he was up there for." Misty spoke with a low voice, using the same serious tone she did when conducting official Gym Battles. She hadn't meant to, her words just came out like that

By now Ash had his head in his hands, struggling to think of what he could possibly do to such a powerful trainer.

"At least, it's _meant_ to be blocked off. I guess being a Pokémon Master gives you special access rights. Here, take a look May." Pulling out his PokeNav Brock walked over to May, a map of Mt. Silver displayed on the screen.

"So how come you didn't have to battle him when you became the Champion of Kanto, Ash?" Taking the PokeNav from Brock May started to study the map and its surroundings, looking over the device towards Ash every few moments.

"No… He was the previous Champion but he disappeared for such a long time so the Indigo League just decided to make Lance Champion since no one could even get in contact with him anymore." Finally taking his head out of his hands Ash just rested back into his chair, Pikachu hopping into his lap as he softly patted the head of his partner.

"So you were the first one to beat Lance since all that happened, then?" Passing the PokeNav back May looked at Ash once more the two making eye contact for the first time since Ash had left his house in the morning. Even though she was still embarrassed she could see just how distressed Ash was, and was only focused on trying to think of ways to help him.

"Yeah, that was me." In truth Ash had forgotten about virtually everything else, not a single embarrassing thought or idea coming into his head as he was entirely focused on Lance and Red. "I just don't get it… When I fought Lance he told me that it was the closest battle he's ever had, and only one other trainer came close. There's no way that can be true if this guy is _that_ strong though."

"No, he wasn't lying Ash." Holding out his tablet, Gary had brought up a post-match analysis of the first time Red became champion. It showed all the Pokémon used and their status at the end, as well as who a Pokémon knocked out, and who they were knocked out by. On it, Red only had one Pokémon left standing. "Looks like the first time it was a _much_ closer battle."

"So that means he's just progressed at an insane rate over the past few years." Looking at the tablet himself, Brock glanced over each of the two contestants teams. Lance's was different mainly focusing on Kanto Pokémon. The same could be said for Red's team. "Here Ash, you might want to look at this."

Ash looked intently at the screen and at the 6 Pokémon on the team of the challenger. Reading them off in his mind, he couldn't help but notice a stark similarity. Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax, Lapras and Espeon.

"His Pokémon… it's almost identical to my team."

"If you evolved everyone, it's pretty close Ash. It's almost uncanny."

Of course at one point in time Ash had owned all of those Pokémon, or at least their pre-evolutionary forms. The only one he never had was an Espeon as he had never caught an Eevee in his travels.

"It's not _too_ strange if you think about it. Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur are some of the strongest Pokémon in their class types within Kanto, the same goes for both Lapras and Snorlax. It's a pretty solid, balanced team for someone who would have to go up against 4 different trainers without switching Pokémon." Brock fell back into a chair as he spoke, almost as if _watching_ the battle had left him drained.

"Espeon is the surprising one. Back then, 10 or so years ago? We weren't even sure what Espeon really Eevee evolutionary line was still fairly unknown. I'm pretty sure Gary was one of the first to evolve his Eevee into an Umbreon from Kanto. "

Nodding in agreement Gary still remained silent. Once again, the room was cloaked in an almost suffocating atmosphere as no one spoke up. Gary and Brock were thinking to themselves, Misty had returned to the mental state of a Gym Leader and was already theorising possible ways of battling Red, and May was simply worried about Ash.

"Pi, Pika Pi." Even Pikachu sounded somewhat disheartened as he stood up in Ash's lap, looking directly at his partner. Then with a sudden burst of energy that shattered the gloomy mood Ash jumped right out of his seat, chest puffed out and with a huge grin spreading across his face.

"_ALRIGHT!_ Man I've been looking forward to a good challenge for ages, this should be great!" Transitioning from near-dead to bursting with energy in less than a moment he left everyone dazed and confused.

Waving his arms about and stretching as if he was getting ready to go for a run Pikachu was quickly absorbed by his explosive energy, jumping down onto the table in front to flex with sparks flying.

"Pika Pi!"

Instead of joining in on though everyone else just seemed to sigh, leaning back with an expression which just showed that they all had the same thought: Typical Ash.

The only other person in the room to get swallowed up in the moment was May who, after a pause jumped up with her arms raised to join in.

"You're going to kick his ass Ash, it'll be great!"

"Damn straight I will!"

"Yeah!... So, when is this thing going to happen anyway?"

"Uhh… I dunno." After staring at each other for a moment confused, the two standing then turned to face Gary.

"W-what? Why do you expect me to know? I haven't talked to anyone from the League in ages."

"Well, you're smart. You just seem to know these things…"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Gary furrowed his brow as he looked up to the ceiling, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"Usually… If he's beaten the Elite Four it's on a 'as soon as the Champion is physically able to' basis. Since tomorrow is still the weekend… Two days from now, probably."

"Wow. That's really soon." Ash seemed surprised by the news, but not worried. Somehow he had eliminated all doubtful thoughts from his head. At least, that's what it seemed like. What was actually going on inside his head, only he really knew.

"Yup. So, we need to figure out what team you're going in with. Preferably today."

* * *

The rest of the day was spent with the group of them huddled around Brock's folder, studying all of Ash's Pokémon to put forth a team which would hopefully allow him to hold onto his title as the best trainer in all of Kanto. Everyone helped out in the conversation, throwing in opinions and advice until the sun started to set by which time they had chosen 6 of Ash's strongest, most powerful Pokémon.

Falling onto his back and sprawling across a longue with his limbs outstretched, Ash let out yet another deep sigh, closing his eyes.

"Ahhh, I'm absolutely _exhausted!_ I've never spent so long putting a team together… Normally I just wing it."

"This isn't someone you want to 'wing it' against Ash, and you know that." The only one left standing, Gary was still studying the team they had put together, studying it to the point where he would be able to recite the most minute detail about the composition.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I can't_ wait_ to get home and eat though. I'm starving…"

"We all are Ash, even more than you since you decided to eat pretty much all of the food Ditto brought in on your own." Sitting cross-legged on the floor again May emphasised her point by clutching her stomach as a soft growl came from it.

"Yeah, well thinking makes me hungry…"

"_Everything_ makes you hungry, Ash."

"Give him a break May. He probably needs the food to warm up after running around naked all morning." Barely containing his laughter as he spoke, Brock just managed to get his entire sentence out before two pillows collided directly with his face; one from Ash and one from May. He knew they were coming and had his arms up in defence right in time, and as far as he was concerned it's easily worth it to watch the way the two of them reacted. Well, to be more accurate there were 3 interesting reactions anytime that situation from earlier in the day came up.

Pouting, Misty who was previously sitting on the floor up against the couch Ash was on, got up to her feet and started heading towards the door after slapping Ash upside the head.

"Hey, _ow_! What was that for?"

"Felt like it. Hey, I'm going to go feed my Pokémon then head back to your place to help Delia with the cooking again, alright?"

"Uh, yeah sure thing Misty. Do you want some help?"

Raising her brow, Misty looked back at Ash with a mischievous smirk.

"That would actually be a _huge_ help. I can get you to climb in Gyarados' mouth and scrub his teeth for me?"

Just as he started to get up, Ash sat back down again.

"Yeah, no. See you at home."

Giggling to herself, a sound which Ash thought that he would never tire of hearing, Misty exited the room and walked out into the brisk air of dusk.

"I should probably go feed my guys as well, and make sure Blastoise and Charizard are playing nice." With a grunt of effort Gary then followed after Misty, and as soon as they had left Brock followed suite.

"I'd better start cooking dinner for the Professors then. Least I can do since they're letting me stay here." Walking past Ash, Brock placed his hand on his shoulder, giving him a re-affirming smile. "You've got this Ash, we'll run over some things tomorrow so come Monday you'll keep your title no problem."

Meeting his smile with a confident grin of his own, Ash nodded his thanks. After he had then left, it was just Ash and May sitting in the room with Pikachu dozing off on the coffee table at the centre of the room. For a moment, silence reigned over them and neither made eye contact. It wasn't awkward, if anything it was peaceful. There was still a gap that needed bridging, though as they both struggled to get the events of the morning out of their head.

"_Hey Ash…_"

"Yeeeeah?"

Turning to look at May again, who was still sitting cross legged on the floor opposite him Ash had a quizzical look as she outstretched her arms.

"Pick me up."

"…No"

As Ash frowned, May pouted at the same time.

"Why not? You ate everyone's food, and now I've got no energy!"

"Yeah right, you've got _plenty_ of energy. I'm the one who's exhausted here."

"Nope! No energy. See?" Feeling like she needed to show some more proof May purposely fell down to her side, sprawling out across the floor. While it definitely proved that she was out of energy, it had an unintended side effect. Due to the way she 'fell' her singlet got moved around with a small amount of her toned stomach showing as well as the edges of her plain white bra, making it more obvious than ever to Ash just how much she had now matured.

With her stomach, chest and long legs all somewhat visible to him he couldn't stop himself from seeing May as an actual woman, probably for the first time. Based on her body alone which was forged through an active lifestyle and more than a little bit of luck in the hips and chest department he felt a very obvious attraction to what he saw. A natural and entirely understandable one, but not one he thought he'd get from May.

Not wanting to alert her and make her even more embarrassed Ash did his very best to keep his eyes from wandering. Naturally it wasn't long until the sheer power of her pout got to him, forcing Ash to give in.

"Fine, whatever. I'll pick you up." Grabbing her hands he pulled on them slightly, allowing May to lift herself up off the floor until she was standing directly in front of him.

"You act like a damn Princess sometimes, y'know?"

"A Princess? Are you trying to call me _pretty_, Ash?"

"Eh? Nope."

"Come on, don't try and deny it. That's very sweet of you." Pulling one of Ash's arms that she was still holding into her body, May leaned forward while raising one foot off the floor behind her to plant a firm kiss right on his cheek. Primarily doing it to mess with him she still certainly enjoyed it.

Now while this would usually have almost no effect on Ash since he saw May as his little sister, the way her slim hourglass figure was shown off to him even unintentionally then had him looking at her in a different light. His eyes scanning over her form for the briefest second it was enough for May to recognise that look. After all she was definitely attractive and it wasn't the first time a man had admired her body, deliberately or not. Having Ash be the one to look at her with that sort of lust though caught her entirely off guard.

In a second it clicked for both of them, their gazes meeting with neither being able nor even wanting to move. May knew that Ash was most likely checking her out for the first time, and Ash was stuck trying to figure out why he was all of a sudden physically attracted to the girl he always saw as family and nothing else. The two young adults were frozen on the spot entirely unsure of how to proceed, but luckily for them they had some help in breaking the tension.

"_Pika!"_

With incredible timing, being either good or bad depending on who you asked Pikachu chose that opportune moment to spring back up onto Ash's shoulder. With his ears perked up and a few sparks of excitement coming from his cheeks he seemed entirely oblivious to what the two trainers were thinking. If he was actually clueless, it was hard to tell.

Snapping themselves out of it the two both managed to stumble over a few sentences before a short silence filled the void. Neither wanted to make eye contact, instead they both shot occasional glances at one another while Ash scratched the back of his head and May twisted her foot on the ground.

"So… Want to head home then? Y'know, being hungry and all." Awkwardly placing a hand behind his head as he spoke Ash said the first thing that came to mind.

"Oh, sure! That sounds good."

"Right, well do you want to fly home again? Or did me and Charizard scare you off last time?"

The thought of swerving through the air at high speeds again made May's stomach drop in a second, but something told her that she wouldn't have to worry about that this time. Ash was feeling awkward, and when he was in that frame of mind he would likely be focusing on that the entire way home with no thoughts about torturing her once again.

"No, that sounds great Ash. Let's go then."

"Really? Uh, sure. Let's go then."

With a few fumbling motions with his hands to make sure May was following Ash walked the same path that the rest of the group had just done, out to where Charizard was diligently waiting, or sleeping depending on how you'd look at it.

"_Pi!"_

With a quick jump Pikachu hopped from shoulder to shoulder, ending up on May's right side as she took a seat behind Ash on the incredibly powerful Pokémon. Before long the two of them were up in the air, her hands wrapped around his slim waist as she admired the incredible view, all while Ash spent most of his time trying to sort out the puzzle of the incredibly simple world that was a young man's sexuality.

Of course, when you realise that he spent most of his teenage years travelling with people like Brock it wasn't a surprise that Ash was dumbfounded when it came to seeing women as women. Now that he found himself in a situation where there were two beautiful women around him at all times, the poor young man was in for one painfully large headache.

Coupled with the fact that he was now conscious of May's breasts pressing up into his back, it was fortunate that Charizard was more than capable of flying home without any sort of guidance as Ash was in no position to offer any with his head off in other places. As tempted as he was to turn around and fly the oblivious pair to Pewter City instead which would undoubtedly be hilarious in his mind, the large flying type decided against it. This time.

* * *

Later on that evening the 4 people living in the Ketchum household all sat around the dinner table once more. May and Misty were enjoying Delia's cooking, and Ash was losing himself in it. Food was life to him, and by stuffing his face all the worries of the day just seemed to melt away.

Misty had filled Delia in on all of the details, including how Ash had gotten a challenge from the old Kanto Pokémon Master. When hearing that Red was back she raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised.

"Most of us thought something had happened to him. He was such a promising trainer and then he just disappeared one day, it was all over the news for a month when it happened, and I'm going to guess that this is all anyone will be talking about for a long time to come now."

Of course she knew how good a trainer Red was so she was understandably nervous for her son. All it took was once glance at Ash though, and the sight of him stuffing his face without a care in the world was thankfully enough to make her smile and dispel any worries she may have had in an instant.

At one point during the night they all offered Ash an affectionate glance, each with a slightly different feeling behind it. They all shared one common trait though, that they all loved him in one way or another. Misty was simply trying to figure out in what way, and May was struggling to think of a way to make Ash as sure of her feelings as she was.

So the rest of the dinner went as usual, the 3 women having a lively, friendly conversation between them until everyone's plate was cleared and they were all full, happy and content. Ash's mood only increased when Delia came out with some good news, as she had found another mattress and set it up in the living room as a third bed so that no one would have to sleep on the couch. With a quick agreement to alternate between the beds so that not one person was stuck with the quickly made-up bed the Pokémon Master was able to retire back to his own comfortable room. If his back was capable of it, he was sure it would've cried tears of joy.

In the hour before bed everyone went off on their own. Ash was immobilised on the couch watching TV which Pikachu used as an opportunity to lie down on his trainer's bloated stomach, not that Ash could care as he was dangerously close to entering a food coma. Misty was in her room brainstorming about any changes to Ash's team that could be made. She was fairly sure that they had chosen the best team possible, but if there was even the slightest chance that she could figure something out to help her friend she'd do everything she could to do so.

May was sitting outside with her PokeNav in hand, sending off mail to her brother and family back in the Hoenn region keeping them informed. Max was almost demanding constant updates since he learned that Ash would be battling a contender for the title of Pokémon Master of Kanto. Ever since travelling with him the younger brother of May hadn't missed a single one of Ash's battles, and he certainly wasn't about to start now. Even though she only intended to chat for 10 minutes or so she spent over half an hour talking her brother through the strategies they had thought of as well as listening to Max's 'brilliant' suggestions. She acted tired, but had a smile on her face throughout.

With things as they were it wasn't long until Ash was dozing off on the couch once more. A cool breeze flowed through Pallet Town making everything seem incredibly peaceful. The only sounds to grace ones ears if they stood outside would be the rustling of bushes from stray Pokémon and the whistling of the air cutting through the long grass at the edges of the town. Any other residence would also have the occasional Hoothoot fly down from the Professors lab, looking for any food scraps or even a Sentret or Rattata coming up to the back door. This was rarely the case at the Ketchum household though as the presence of a gigantic Charizard resting outside was more than enough to keep most smaller Pokémon at bay.

Being in such an atmosphere it was only natural that Ash was struggling to keep his eyes open. He was at peace with all of his friends back in one place and had an incredible Pokémon Battle coming up, so as far as he was concerned life couldn't get any better.

"Ash, you might want to wake up before May steals your bed again…"

Springing up from his seat with enough momentum to send Pikachu airborne, springing off of his stomach only to land gracefully on the table Ash quickly stood up and went to rush up the stairs right past Misty, who had thankfully reminded him of the comfortable heaven that was his mattress waiting in his room. Being as clumsy as he was though he tripped after a few steps, tumbling forward only to be caught by Misty who placed her arms underneath his own practically holding him up off the floor.

Face to face, with Ash's head right below Misty's due to the half-fallen position he was in Ash only managed to stumble out a brief thank-you before detaching himself and standing back up.

"I wasn't gonna trip… I had that."

"Of course you did, Ash." Giggling softly to herself Misty then raised herself up on her tip-toes, brushing her fringe out of her face to plant a kiss this time gently on Ash's forehead.

"Goodnight Ash, get some sleep." Walking off before he could respond she once again left him speechless, looking for words which would only come minutes later. Instead Ash stood stunned while Pikachu stood at his feet, looking up with a tilted head.

"_Pika?"_

"Yeah, I don't know either buddy."

So deciding to simply follow her advice Ash walked up the stairs, one foot at a time which felt heavy with exhaustion as the day's events were finally catching up to him. He hadn't strained himself physically but he had mentally and that seemed to have an even stronger effect on him. Taking off his shirt as he walked to throw it to the side, he simply fell onto his bed and rolled over, not bothering to lie under sheets on the hot night as sleep quickly threatened to catch up to him once more.

This time it was the squeak of a door that took him back from the brink of unconsciousness. Tilting his head to the side while still lying on his back he opened one eye to see May walking around his room, wearing the oversized shirt from before that she wore to bed muttering to herself.

"C'mon, where is it…"

It didn't take long for Ash to figure out that she was looking for something, and he figured that with any luck she'd come closer. He was still slightly flustered about that morning and figured it would be as good of a time as any to scare her as she got close. It was childish, but it would at least from his perspective make them even.

So he stayed still, Pikachu resting on his stomach once more while he kept one eye barely open just enough to make out May's figure. Watching as she continued to search around, it didn't take too long for her to end up right at Ash's side.

"Aha! There you are…" Whispering to herself, May leaned over Ash as quietly as she possibly could with her fingers extended to pick up a hair-tie on the far side of the bed. Ash figured it was a stupid thing to come back for, but he had the perfect opportunity to get some payback. Just as he was about to…

"You're so cute…"

Instead of moving away May had stayed leaning over Ash, her face right above his with her untied hair falling down around his own, creating a veil which only he could see through. With one delicate, outstretched finger she swept Ash's own short fringe out of the way, the dark lighting making it easy for her to assume that he was actually asleep. For a solid minute she stayed there, examining the features of his face as her hand cupped his cheek. It had gotten to the point where he had forgotten entirely about scaring her as he'd have no way to explain why he'd waited until that point and had allowed her to act like this.

Truth be told Ash had no idea what was going on, and what followed was about to leave him confused for days.

Bringing her other hand up to cup Ash's other cheek, May slowly closed the distance between them inch-by-inch. She didn't know where she got the courage from, but seeing the boy she loved in such a defenceless state somehow compelled her to move. Only stopping when her lips were almost brushing up against his own she then gave him the most delicate kiss she possibly could. At this point Ash's heart was beating so fast he could have sworn that May had heard it, but she didn't. She simply broke off the tender exchange after a few moments, stood up straight and walked out the room with barely a sound.

He waited a few seconds until he heard May reach the bottom of the stairs and only then did he open his eyes, staring up at the ceiling as his mind raced but never managed to come to a single logical conclusion about what just happened

"What the hell was that…?" He had no idea where that came from, or why May did it. To make matters even worse he knew that he _liked_ it. A part of him wanted to kiss back when that happened, to bring May down onto his bed with him to embrace her and kiss her. It was something that he simply couldn't work out though, so all he could do is place his hands on his forehead and let his mind race for hours into the night, waiting for sleep to come and save him from the flood of emotions which he hopelessly ill-equipped to deal with.

* * *

Hey guys! Back again, sorry about the huge wait! Uni and real life have been kicking my ass as usual, so I've rarely been able to work on this though. Figured I should update it given how long it's been so here you go!

Hope you all enjoyed it, it was my first proper attempt at writing a Pokemon Battle so any constructive criticism is welcome as usual.

And as always, thanks for reading! And a huge thank-you to everyone who follows, favourites and reviews my work, you have no idea how much it means to know that you guys are enjoying what I have to write :)


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